How BenVA uses personal information.

Who we are

The Benue Virtual Academy (BenVA) is operated by Smart Education Multilinks Services (SEMS) Limited. The operator is responsible, as data controller, for personal information collected through BenVA accounts, and handles it in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023.

Information we collect

• Parent or guardian: name, email address, phone number and password (stored only in a secure, irreversible form).
• Learner: name, current class, current school (if you give it), the programme and class chosen, enrolment status and messages from the academy about the enrolment.
• Consent record: the version of this notice and the statement you agreed to, with the date, time, IP address and browser used.
• Once learning begins: timetable, attendance, participation, assignments, feedback and progress in BenVA classes.
• Technical: sign-in session cookies and security logs needed to keep accounts safe.

Why we use it

• To create and secure your account and link learners to their parent or guardian.
• To review and manage enrolment, places and classes, and to contact you about them.
• To teach learners, share timetables and report attendance and progress to their guardian.
• To keep learners safe, including responding to safeguarding concerns.
• To meet legal obligations and improve the academy using statistics that do not identify individuals.

We rely on your consent as parent or guardian for the learner’s information, on providing the service you have asked for, on our legal obligations and, where a learner may be at risk, on protecting their vital interests.

Who can see it

• Authorised academy staff responsible for enrolment, teaching, support and safeguarding, with access limited to their role.
• Benue State State SEMS administrators responsible for BenVA.
• Teachers of the learner’s BenVA classes, once enrolment is confirmed.
• Service providers that host the platform and deliver email, under contract and only on our instructions.

We do not share a learner’s information with their school without the guardian’s agreement, except where needed to protect the learner or required by law. BenVA activity and progress do not replace the school’s official records. We do not sell personal information or use it for advertising.

How long we keep it

Account and learner information is kept while the account is active. If you ask us to close the account, we delete or anonymise it within a reasonable period, except records we must keep, such as consent and safeguarding records or records needed for legal claims, which are kept only as long as required.

Learners

Learner accounts are created only through a parent or guardian account. Learners under 18 do not register themselves, and guardians can see and manage the information held about their learners.

Your rights

Under the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 you can ask to see the information we hold, correct it, delete it, restrict or object to its use and receive a copy in a portable form. You can withdraw consent at any time; this does not affect earlier use, but the learner may then be unable to continue in the programme. You can also complain to the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC).

Contact us

Privacy and data protection

To be published before registration opens

Support

To be published before registration opens

Safeguarding Lead

To be published before registration opens

Changes to this notice

When this notice changes materially we will publish a new version here and ask for consent again where needed. Each consent record keeps the version you agreed to.