Privacy Policy

SchoolsPortal ("we", "us", or "our") is an educational platform operated by SparkleCity Nigeria Limited, a company incorporated under the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We are committed to safeguarding the privacy of every person who uses our website at www.schoolsportal.com.ng ("Site") and all associated services ("Services").

This Privacy Policy explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, who we share it with, and what rights you have. It applies to all users, including students, parents, guardians, school administrators, and teachers.

We collect two categories of information:

We do not collect sensitive personal data (e.g. biometric, health, or religious data) unless you voluntarily provide it and give explicit consent.

Under the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) 2019, we process your personal data only where we have a lawful basis to do so:

• Consent — where you have given clear, informed consent (e.g. subscribing to marketing emails).
• Contract performance — to provide the services you or your school has registered for.
• Legitimate interests — to maintain platform security, prevent fraud, and improve our services, where these interests are not overridden by your rights.
• Legal obligation — where required to comply with applicable Nigerian law.

We use the data we collect for the following purposes:

• Service delivery — creating and managing your account, processing registrations, and enabling access to academic records and school features.
• Communication — sending login credentials, result notifications, fee reminders, and important administrative alerts via email or SMS.
• Platform improvement — analysing aggregated, anonymised usage patterns to enhance features and fix bugs.
• Customer support — responding to help requests, complaints, and enquiries.
• Security — detecting, preventing, and investigating fraud, unauthorised access, and abuse.
• Legal compliance — meeting our obligations under Nigerian law and regulatory requirements.
• Marketing (with consent only) — sending newsletters or updates about new features. You can opt out at any time.

We use cookies and similar technologies to keep you logged in, remember your preferences, and understand how the Site is used. The types of cookies we use are:

You may disable non-essential cookies through your browser settings. Note that some Site features may not function correctly if essential cookies are blocked.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data. We may share it only in these limited circumstances:

• With your school — school administrators and authorised staff can access the academic and personal data of pupils enrolled in their institution.
• Service providers — third-party vendors who help us operate the platform (e.g. hosting, payment processing, email delivery). They are contractually bound to process data only on our instructions and to comply with NDPR.
• Legal authorities — if required by a valid court order, law, or regulatory request.
• Business transfers — in the event of a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, your data may be transferred. We will notify you in advance and give you options where possible.

Any third-party link on our Site leads to services governed by their own privacy policies. We are not responsible for those policies and encourage you to review them.

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this policy or as required by law:

• Active accounts — data is retained for the duration of your account.
• Closed accounts — personal data is deleted or anonymised within 90 days of account closure, except where retention is required for legal, regulatory, or audit purposes.
• Academic records — may be retained for up to 7 years in accordance with Nigerian educational record-keeping requirements.
• Transaction logs — retained for 6 years for financial audit compliance.
• Server logs — retained for up to 12 months, then deleted.

SchoolsPortal serves primary and secondary school students, many of whom are minors. We take the protection of children's data especially seriously.

• We do not allow direct self-registration by children under 13.
• We do not serve behavioural advertising to any user we have reason to believe is a minor.
• Academic data belonging to students is accessible only to that student (where age-appropriate), their parent/guardian, and authorised school staff.

We implement industry-standard technical and organisational measures to safeguard your data:

• Encryption in transit — all data exchanged between your browser and our servers is transmitted over TLS (HTTPS).
• Encryption at rest — sensitive stored data (passwords, identity records) is encrypted using AES-256.
• Access controls — staff access to personal data is limited to those who need it, with role-based permissions and audit logs.
• Password hashing — user passwords are never stored in plain text; they are hashed using bcrypt.
• Regular security reviews — we conduct periodic vulnerability assessments of our infrastructure.

Under the NDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data. To exercise any of them, contact us at privacy@schoolsportal.com.ng. We will respond within 30 days.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with NITDA (National Information Technology Development Agency) at nitda.gov.ng if you believe your data rights have been violated.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. When we make material changes, we will:

• Update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page.
• Send a notification email to all registered users.
• Where the change is significant, display a prominent banner on the Site.

Your continued use of SchoolsPortal after any updated policy is posted constitutes your acceptance of that updated policy. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise your rights, or need to report a privacy concern, please contact our Data Protection Officer: