By Hadiza Yusuf
KANO — The Kano State Government says it is rebuilding its education system from the ground up as part of broad reforms aimed at improving standards and reducing the number of out-of-school children in the state.
The Technical Adviser to the Governor on Education Reform, Haladu Muhammad, stated this on Monday during a stakeholders’ engagement on the development of a 10-year education sector plan in Kano.
He said the administration inherited a struggling education system that required urgent and comprehensive intervention.
“We came into an education system that was in the intensive care unit. There was a need for serious diagnosis and prescription to find out what was wrong and how to fix it,” he said.
Muhammad disclosed that the government declared a state of emergency in the education sector and committed substantial resources to its revival, including allocating over 30 per cent of the state budget to education for three consecutive years.
He also said about 16,000 additional teachers have been recruited, bringing the total number in the state to about 60,000.
“We are now rising to about 60,000 teachers across the state, and we are still going higher. The goal is to improve the teacher-to-student ratio and ensure better learning outcomes,” he said
According to him, the 10-year education sector plan under development will focus on access to education, quality of learning, accountability, infrastructure, and skills development.
“We are planning for access — how to get children into school and keep them there. We are also looking at management, accountability, and how education connects to jobs and skills,” he added.
He said the plan would also address out-of-school children and expand non-formal education pathways to ensure no child is left behind.
The Officer in Charge of UNICEF Field Office Kano, Dr. Karanveer Singh, said the collaboration aims to ensure every child is in school.
He said Kano, with support from UNICEF and partners, is developing a 10-year strategic education plan followed by a three-year implementation framework.
“The target is simple: every child in school. No child should miss education. We are working with the Ministry of Education, SUBEB, and other stakeholders to improve quality and bring global learning practices into the system,” he said.
Also speaking, Dr. Lara Ogunshola of the National Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) said the exercise is designed to produce a practical roadmap for addressing Nigeria’s education challenges.
She said NIEPA is working with Kano State and UNICEF to ensure the plan is not just theoretical but implementable.
“We know we have challenges in our education system, but the first solution is to admit the problem,” she said.
Ogunshola added that the plan will prioritise access, management, accountability, and improved learning outcomes, with a focus on reducing the number of out-of-school children in the state.
