By Maduabuchi Nmeribeh/Kano
During his inaugural speech on May 29, 2023, Kano state Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf made it crystal clear that one of the driving points of his administration’s agenda is to make sure that every Kano child has access to free and qualitative education. In doing this, he promised to revitalize the primary and secondary education sectors in the state through the provision of standard infrastructure that will create conducive learning environments for pupils and students, the provision of instructional materials and the employment of trained teachers who are able and capable of impacting the needful knowledge on the students and pupils
A few months after taking the mantle of leadership, and after a thorough your of schools across the state, Governor Yusuf raised his voice in lamentation, echoing the plights of students and pupils in most secondary and primary schools across the state. He revealed that his administration met no fewer than 4.7 million pupils sitting on bare floors in primary schools across the state upon assumption of office on May 29, 2023. Governor Yusuf made the revelation during the occasion of the Declaration of State of Emergency on Education in Kano state held at the Open Arena, Kano Government House.
He said the state government was declaring a State-of-Emergency on education with the full support of the National Union of Teachers (NUT).
Governor Yusuf stated that the lack of instructional materials further
compounded the problem, “leaving our teachers and students to struggle with outdated and insufficient resources. Above 4.7 million pupils are sitting on bare floors to take lessons while bout 400 schools have only one teacher for all
classes subjects and all pupils. Rather than building more classrooms and providing basic furniture in the schools, as well as hiring more
teachers, the administration we took over from chose to butcher the land belonging to those schools, in some places demolishing classrooms to create space for shops. Those schools that they could not sell, closed them down and got them vandalized. The encroachment of public school lands and the conversion of these vital institutions into private business premises is an affront to our communal values and a direct assault on our commitment to public education.
This reckless appropriation of educational spaces for commercial use is unacceptable and must stop immediately.”
He further stated: “Today, I stand before you with a profound sense of duty, compelled by the pressing need to address the precarious state of our education sector. As your elected Governor, entrusted with the solemn responsibility of steering our state towards prosperity and progress, I cannot ignore the glaring reality that confronts us in the realm of education. Education is our number one priority, and believing that education is not only a public good, but is also the greatest asset that any person can bequeath to the upcoming generation because no people can grow beyond the quality and standard of their education system, we must therefore take radical but practical measures to reposition education provisioning in our State.”
He also bemoaned the proliferation of out-of-school children in the state but promised that his administration has taken adequate steps towards confronting the menace. “It is with a heavy heart that I bring forth this discourse, as the challenges we face in the education sector are as formidable as they are alarming, and the urgency with which we must act is undeniable. Our educational landscape, once a beacon of hope and opportunity for our youths, and an example for other states to copy, now stands shrouded in the shadows of unacceptable neglect and decay. Our beloved State is witnessing an alarming proliferation of out-of-school children, with the current figure standing at 989,234 children,” he added.
In his first budget of 2024, education took the lead. Out of the N407 billion 2024 budget of “Restoration and Transformation,” education gulped the biggest share of N95.389 billion, representing 29.97 per cent of the total budget. This he repeated in the 2025 budget, even scaling up the share for education. The 2025 budget valued at N549.16 billion titled: “Budget of Hope, Human Capital, and Economic Development,” favoured education with N168.35 billion representing 31 per cent of the budget. Analysts have continued to hail this huge investment in education, believing that the funds will be adequately channelled into redeeming, redefining and revitalizing the ailing education sector in the state.
Going forward, Governor Yusuf has been working the talk with the quarterly distribution of instructional materials worth millions of Naira to schools across the state as part of his education recovery policy. The distribution of the educational materials to pupils in primary, junior and senior secondary schools in the state is a free gesture. The gesture began a few days after the government unveiled hundreds of school furniture across public learning centres to ensure a conducive learning environment for pupils and students across the state.
Unveiling the learning materials at Government House, Governor Yusuf said the government was taking a bold step to reverse the unfortunate setbacks brought to the education system over the years. He regretted what he considered as deteriorating infrastructure, and a high number of out-of-school children, coupled with the closure of several boarding schools before he assumed the mantle of leadership. Yusuf expressed worry that the ugly situation brought about by poor management of public policy on education by the past administration has led to a severe decline in the quality of education across the state. He, however, pledged his administration’s commitment to address the predicaments in line with his vision to restore the lost glory of the quality system of education in Kano.
He said: “We are fully committed to addressing these issues head-on. In line with our vision to restore the greatness of education in Kano State, we declared a State of Emergency in Education to pave the way for a holistic approach to revamping our educational system to ensure they are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to educate our children effectively. Our administration has also embarked on the massive rehabilitation of schools across the state, as well as the construction of new blocks of classrooms to create a conducive learning environment. We have recently produced hundreds of thousands of pieces of furniture for our pupils, and very soon, we shall flag off the distribution of school uniforms for Primary One pupils, ensuring they start their educational journey with dignity and pride.”
Governor Yusuf further explained that the instructional materials provided are essential for creating an enabling environment where teaching and learning can thrive as education is the bedrock of development and providing necessary resources for its development is an investment for the future.
He used the opportunity to call on parents and stakeholders to partner with the present administration to rebuild, re-energize and ensure children are returning to school. Materials distributed during the occasion include; 120,000 cartons of Chalk,97,532 records of workbooks, 93,600 exercise books, 199,234 class registers, 350,000 student report sheets, 351,000 lesson observation books, and 30,000 copies of the new National Anthem.
Indeed, Governor Yusuf’s passion for education has brought remarkable reforms and innovations to Kano State. Since assuming office, Governor Yusuf has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to providing access to quality education and improving the overall learning environment for students. He has reviewed the 60 years old state education law. He has so far, expended more than N4,000,000,000.00 paying food suppliers for boarding schools promptly.
To encourage student enrollment in primary schools across the state, he approved and released the sum of N1,500,000,000.00 for the purchase and sewing of student uniforms for primary one pupils numbering more than 800,000 in 2024.
Governor Yusuf has consistently ensured prompt payment of teachers’ salaries on the 25th to 26th of every month. He has boldly cleared the backlog of promotion from 2017 to 2022 affecting 39,000 eligible personnel in education sectors mostly teachers. He has approved the payment and implementation of promotion to 20,542 teachers across the 44 Local Government Areas from 2023 to January 2024 with effect from 2nd October 2024. Additionally, Governor Yusuf has approved and released N300,000,000.00 to be distributed to teachers as soft revolving loans. He recruited 5,643 teachers on permanent and pensionable appointments and recruited an additional 4,000 under the BESDA programme.
He has so far spent more than N3,500,000,000.00 to fabricate more than 80,000 3-seater seats accommodating 240,000 students that were inherited sitting on the bare floor. He has also released the sum of N2,000,000,000.00 to the Community Re-orientation Committees (CRC) across the 44 Local Government Areas renovating and equipping more than 250 classrooms providing seats for 15,000 students. He has approved N5,000,000,000 for the construction of 402 new standard classrooms, work is in different stages of completion.
All these efforts are geared towards achieving: “Every school, a good school; “Every child, enrolled in school; “Every student, an engaged learner; “Every teacher, a caring educator; “Every parent, a supportive partner; “The Government, a committed investor,” slogans of Governor Yusuf’s education revolution.
Governor Yusuf has changed the face of education in Kano state in just no time.
He has been keeping faith with his promise of periodic provision of free school desks; renovation of classrooms; construction of new classrooms and office accommodation; and teacher recruitment. Kano residents have continued to express their gratitude for Governor Yusuf’s selfless service and millstone.
However, given Governor Yusuf’s pronounced and modest achievements in the revitalization of primary and secondary education in the state, working journalists under the auspices of Kano State Correspondents’ Chapel decided to move around schools across the 44 Local Government Areas of the state to find that the extent of impacts Governor Yusuf’s efforts are having on the development of the3 schools and relief for pupils, students and parents. Though our Correspondent observed that Yusuf’s administration is working, there is however a nagging need to expedite action as the enormity of work that needs to be done to position Kano in its rightful place as spelt by global standards remains very huge.
During the press tour, a community leader in Gaya Local Government. Area, Alhaji Abbas Abdullahi commended Governor Yusuf for his efforts towards the revitalization of the primary and secondary education sector in Kano state. Alhaji Abbas who spoke to our Correspondent expressed happiness that Governor Yusuf is marching action with words on his declaration of state-of-emergency on education in the state.
Alhaji Abbas commended Governor Yusuf for his quick intervention, which he said is gradually changing the narrative. According to him, “The primary and secondary schools across Kano state have witnessed tremendous development in the last year. This is a good story compared to what we were experiencing before May 2023. I am a retired teacher and now a community leader, and I must confess that our primary and secondary education was abandoned and neglected by the immediate-past administration for reasons best known to them. We only heaved a sigh of relief when Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf came in, working the talk in his declaration of a state of emergency in primary and secondary education. So far, from what I gathered, he has provided over 73, 000 desks to primary and secondary schools across the state. I believe he is determined to make sure that all the pupils and students undertake their studies in a conducive learning environment. As you move around the schools, you will observe the construction of modern two-story classroom blocks in each of the schools. Some of them are nearing completion. He is also providing free learning materials, including exercise books, textbooks and free uniforms to the students and pupils. This is very commendable and we believe he will sustain the tempo.”
However, findings by our Correspondent, during the tour across the three Senatorial Zones in Kano indicated that lack of teachers, inadequate learning materials, dilapidated infrastructure, lack of sitting desks, and insecurity hampered the standard of primary and secondary education in Kano, particularly in the hinterlands. For instance, in Warawa Local Government Area, an agrarian community, our Correspondent observed that in most of the schools, classrooms were empty as parents elected to take their children to farm instead of enrolling them on schools, due to a lack of adequate infrastructure and furniture to create conducive learning environment for pupils and children. The situation was so pathetic that some of the schools are not fenced as intruders walk freely within the school premises even in the face of damning insecurity.
Most parents complained that they spend a fortune in buying detergents for washing their children’s school uniforms who sit on bare floors to learn because of the lack of sitting desks. The offices of the headmasters and principals of some of the schools visited are nothing to write home about as they are adorned with outdated and dilapidated furniture. More so, some of the schools visited lack toilets and boreholes, forcing students and pupils to defecate in the open space. The problem of inadequate teachers is well pronounced in Yelwa Model Primary School, with 36 teachers taking care of 1,164 and Unhogo Special Model Primary School, with only 15 teachers manning 2,943 pupils.
Indeed, our Correspondent observed the construction of two-story building modern classroom blocks in all the schools visited so far. The schools’ management also acknowledged taken delivery of learning desks, free exercise books, textbooks, biros, pencils and other learning materials.