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400 schools in Kano North have one teacher each – Official
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
No fewer than 400 Schools in Kano North have only one teacher each teaching all subjects, KANO FOCUS has learned.
KANO FOCUS reports that the Commissioner of education Alhaji Umar Haruna Doguwa revealed this during a meeting with staff of five agencies under the ministry, held at Rumfa Collage, Kano.
The former governor of Kano State Dr Abdullahi Ganduje is from Kano North Senatorial District.
“It is very sad to note that just in Kano North, are over 400 Schools with only one teacher per School” he lamented.
The commissioner revealed that Kano State Government has set aside 49% of it’s 2023 budget allocation on education as part of it’s commitment to revatilize the sector.
Doguwa maintained that the present administration under the able leadership of Abba Kabir Yusuf attached priority attention to the education sector in view of it’s position as backbone of human development.
The Commissioner explained that, the administration had paid over 1.3 billion Naira for the settlement of 57,000 Students who sat for the NECO, WEAC and NBAIS examinations.
Doguwa said Governor Yusuf is fully aware about the total collapse of the education sector which he associated with lack of concern and commitment by the previous government.
He explained that from the investigation made so far, there are over four million students across the state sitting on bare floor, while some schools are having only one teacher, a situation he described as pathetic.
According to the Commissioner, the state is taking serious measures to bring all the possible changes in both the primary and secondary education system of the state.
“As part of this measure, we noticed that most of our Zonal Offices are filled up with competent staff who are supposed to teach in the classroom but are there doing nothing. As from now, no Zonal office under any agency should get more than 22 staff while the rest must be reposted to classrooms based on merit and profession.
On the issue of Principal Directorship, the Commissioner said the ministry is going to pass a circular that bans using Principal Director, stressing that ” You either be a Principal or Director because the position of Principal is equally very important ”
He however reaffirmed government’s commitment to sanitize private schools operation in the state, pointing out that the administration would no longer allow posting of public schools teacher to private school and any officer found wanting should be furnished accordingly.
“We are changing the entire registration system of private schools to be online. So from now on, no person shall use his personal account to register any private school and doing that violets our rules and regulations ” disclosed Doguwa.
He said the ministry would provide new improved timebook which indicates ‘time in and time out’ to ensure punctuality among the teaching and non teaching staff.
“In every class, a sign sheet will be provided for a teacher to sign at the end of every lesson and that sheet will be collected monthly and send to the ministry for checking ” he announced.
The Commissioner assured the staff of the government commitment to improve their working condition, urging them to make use of their vast experiences in ensuring that the education sector achieves greater success.
Speaking, the Special Adviser to the Governor on vocational and education Alhaji Habib Hassan El-Yakub implored wealthy individuals in the state to complement the effort of the present administration of improving the the education sector.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of education Hajiya Kubra Imam explained that the meeting was organized to discuss on several issues regarding the state education sector and how to improve the system.
In his remarks, the Executive Secretary Kano State Senior Secondary Schools Management Board Dr Kabiru Ado Zakirai urged the staff to join hands together in actualizing the new policies and programmes introduced by the present administration to revatilize the sector.
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
The Kano State Government says it has executed 1,508 development projects worth more than N928 billion across the state’s 44 local government areas since Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf assumed office, with about 80 per cent of constituency projects awarded between 2023 and 2025 already completed.
KANO FOCUS reports that the Commissioner for Public Procurement, Projects Monitoring and Evaluation, Comrade Nura Iro Ma’aji Sumaila, disclosed this during an international press briefing on the administration’s infrastructure development programme.
According to Comrade Sumaila, the projects cover critical sectors including roads, urban renewal, education, healthcare, security and other social infrastructure.
He said 799 of the projects have been completed, while 709 are at various stages of execution. He added that the state is also implementing 619 constituency projects through members of the Kano State House of Assembly.
The commissioner noted that about 80 per cent of the constituency projects have been completed. However, he said some projects remain unfinished because of rising construction costs caused by inflation.
He said the government has submitted a request to Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf for an upward review of contract sums to enable contractors complete the affected projects.
Breakdown of projects
Comrade Sumaila said the administration spent over N169 billion on urban renewal projects, including road rehabilitation, drainage construction and other metropolitan infrastructure.
He said another N118 billion was committed to constructing five-kilometre roads in 38 local government areas to improve connectivity across the state.
According to him, the government also awarded contracts worth over N6.8 billion for the construction of Kano State Neighbourhood Watch security divisions in 36 local government areas.
He added that rural infrastructure projects covering education, healthcare and other social interventions across the 44 local government areas account for contracts valued at more than N397 billion, while other ongoing projects have a combined value of about N255 billion.
Commitment to transparency
The commissioner said the Ministry of Public Procurement, Projects Monitoring and Evaluation would continue to ensure compliance with due process and technical standards in the execution of government projects.
He said the ministry’s mandate includes monitoring projects to ensure value for money and prudent utilisation of public resources.
According to him, the administration’s investments in infrastructure are intended to improve mobility, strengthen security, expand access to education and healthcare, improve water supply and stimulate economic growth across the state.
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
Kano State has emerged as the highest-ranked sub-national government in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for education spending, according to the latest Sub-National Education Spending Index developed by the University of Paris.
KANO FOCUS reports that the ranking places Kano State first among 209 first-level sub-national governments across 15 ECOWAS member countries, underscoring the state’s growing reputation for prioritising investment in education.
According to the published index, Kano topped the rankings with an overall S-WAESI score of 87.21, outperforming other leading regions, including Dakar and Saint-Louis in Senegal. Lagos State was the second Nigerian state on the list, ranking 16th overall.
The assessment evaluated states and regions using the S-WAESI (Sub-National Weighted Aggregate Education Spending Index) methodology, which measures government commitment to education through indicators such as actual education expenditure, spending per student, budget execution, education priority, transparency and evidence-based reporting.
The methodology assigns 35 points to actual education spending, 25 points to spending per student, 20 points to budget execution, 10 points to education priority and 10 points to transparency.
The report indicated that Kano excelled largely due to its strong actual education spending and budget execution, making it the best-performing sub-national government in the region.
The ranking covered states, regions, districts and municipalities across Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Togo, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde.
Kano State Accountability Forum on Education (K-SAFE) said the recognition reflects Kano State Government’s sustained investment in expanding access to education, improving school infrastructure and strengthening educational planning and budget implementation.
KANO FOCUS reports that the achievement is expected to further boost the state’s profile as a leader in education reform within West Africa and provide additional momentum for ongoing efforts to improve learning outcomes across the state.
The latest ranking comes amid renewed attention on education financing across ECOWAS, with experts increasingly emphasising transparent budgeting, efficient resource utilisation and sustained public investment as critical drivers of quality education.
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
Kano State has emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the World Bank-supported HOPE Governance Programme after qualifying for a total of $3.5 million in performance-based incentives for implementing key governance, education and healthcare reforms.
KANO FOCUS reports that the World Bank, through the HOPE Governance Programme domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, approved $27 million in incentives for states that successfully met the Year Zero Disbursement-Linked Results (DLRs).
The National Coordinator of the HOPE Governance Programme, Assad Hassan, announced the incentives on Tuesday in Abuja during a retreat attended by commissioners, permanent secretaries and directors of budget and planning from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
A statement issued by the programme’s Communications Officer, Joe Mutah, said the incentives were based on the recommendations of the Interim Independent Verification Agent, which assessed states’ performance against agreed reform indicators.
Kano ranked among the highest-performing states, qualifying for incentives under three separate reform indicators.
The state will receive $1.5 million under Disbursement-Linked Result (DLR) 2.1 for adopting comprehensive guidelines for the preparation and submission of consolidated work plans for the state basic education budget.
It also qualified for another $1.5 million under DLR 2.2, which recognises states that adopted comprehensive guidelines for consolidated work plans for state primary healthcare budgets.
In addition, Kano secured $500,000 under DLR 2.3 for adopting harmonised budget guidelines and a unified chart of accounts for local governments.
Altogether, the state is expected to receive $3.5 million, making it one of the top-performing states under the programme.
Only five states—Bayelsa, Borno, Kano, Kebbi and Yobe—qualified for both the education and healthcare planning incentives, earning $3 million each from the two indicators alone.
Kano further distinguished itself by qualifying under the local government budgeting reform indicator, increasing its total allocation to $3.5 million.
The state also featured among 15 states that met the requirements under DLR 4.1, which rewards states for publishing their 2025 Citizens Budget for basic education and primary healthcare by February 28, 2025. Each qualifying state under this indicator will receive $500,000.
Other states that qualified under DLR 4.1 are Abia, Bayelsa, Borno, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Ondo, Plateau and Yobe.
According to the programme, the performance-based incentives are designed to encourage states to strengthen governance systems, improve budget transparency and enhance planning in the education and primary healthcare sectors.
KANO FOCUS reports that the HOPE Governance Programme is a World Bank-supported initiative implemented through the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning to promote improved public financial management and better service delivery across Nigeria’s states.
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