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K-SAFE appeals to Kano Executive Council to pass revised education bill
The Kano State Accountability Forum on Education (K-SAFE) has appealed to the Kano State Executive Council to pass the revised Kano State Education Bill into law to strengthen the legal framework for education reforms in the state.
KANO FOCUS reports that the appeal was made by the Co-Chair of K-SAFE (Civil Society Organisations), Dr Auwalu Halilu, at the forum’s 2025 General Annual Meeting held on Sunday at the School-Based Management Committee (SBMC) Hall, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Kano. The meeting brought together civil society organisations, education stakeholders, and members of the media.
Dr Auwalu Halilu,
At the meeting, K-SAFE reviewed its education advocacy and accountability activities for 2025 and outlined priority actions for 2026, reaffirming its commitment to promoting transparency and improving learning outcomes across Kano State.
Chairing the session, Dr Halilu said the coalition recorded notable achievements in 2025 through sustained advocacy, strengthened engagement with government, monitoring of education financing and service delivery, and the promotion of school safety initiatives.
According to him, K-SAFE’s collective actions helped to draw increased public attention to education reforms in Kano, particularly in the areas of funding, accountability, and access to education.
Cross section of participants
Participants at the meeting also reviewed challenges encountered during the year, including coordination constraints and emerging policy and implementation issues. They identified strategic priorities for 2026, such as deepening citizen engagement, strengthening data-driven advocacy, expanding partnerships with ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), and consolidating gains in transparency and accountability in the education sector.
Highlighting key achievements, the forum said it had advocated for the adequate release of funds to the education sector and engaged the Kano State House of Assembly, an intervention that reportedly contributed to increased funding for education. K-SAFE also tracked and monitored the utilisation of released funds through a monitoring and tracking template developed by the coalition.
Cross section of participants
Other interventions included advocacy for the reduction of out-of-school children, mobilisation for improved enrolment, retention, and completion of secondary education, as well as community-level engagements. While Kano State was reported to have the highest student enrolment in Nigeria, the forum identified student retention as a major challenge.
K-SAFE further disclosed that two blocks of classrooms were constructed at Maure village in Karaye Local Government Area as a result of its advocacy and intervention.
Cross section of K-SAFE members
Outlining plans for 2026, the forum resolved to intensify advocacy for the provision of instructional materials in schools, support the implementation of the teacher development policy, promote safe school initiatives including the deployment of security guards, and advocate for improved sanitation and personal hygiene, particularly for girl-child education. It also pledged to continue advocating for access to quality education across the state.
Earlier, the Co-Chairperson representing the government, Alhaji Yushau Hamza Kafinchiri, welcomed participants and thanked members for their commitment to the coalition. He assured them of the Kano State Government’s support and disclosed that the state had compiled its 2026 annual school census, making it the first in the country to do so.
Alhaji Yushau Hamza Kafinchiri
Also speaking, Umma Muhammad Rakana of the Partnership for Learning for All in Nigeria (PLANE) said the governor had endorsed four education policies, while the Federal Government had adopted Kano State’s Non-State Actors Policy. She added that efforts were ongoing to develop an implementation framework, including plans to organise a retreat on policy implementation.
Umma Muhammad Rakana
Rakana further disclosed that the Kano Education Reform Directorate (KERD), in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, was translating the approved policies to promote wider understanding and effective implementation.
Members of K-SAFE
The congress resolved to organise an education summit that would bring together key stakeholders to discuss critical education issues and mobilise communities to take ownership of public schools, including the construction of community schools across the state.
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 Mr 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
Mr 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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