KANO (North-West, Nigeria) — Kano State’s education reforms have gained international recognition at the Parliament of the United Kingdom, where global education leaders commended Governor Abba Kabir-Yusuf’s commitment to transforming the sector through sustained investment, policy reforms and improved learning outcomes.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Governor’s Spokesman, Sunusi Bature, on Thursday.
The recognition came during an International Parliamentary Forum on Reading Revolution held at the House of Lords, Westminster, London.
The event was supported by Universal Learning Solutions (ULS), an international non-governmental organisation implementing the Jolly Phonics Project in Nigeria to improve literacy and reading skills in formal and integrated schools.
Speaking at the forum, the Chief Executive Officer of Universal Learning Solutions, Mr. Gary Foxcroft, praised Governor Abba Kabir-Yusuf for transforming Kano’s education system through visionary leadership, sustained funding and the creation of an enabling environment for reforms to thrive.
The roundtable was hosted and chaired by Lord Alton of Liverpool, a distinguished member of the House of Lords, who said Nigeria and the United Kingdom share common interests and values.
He noted that Kano State’s adoption of England’s reading and literacy model was a strategic decision that would significantly improve learning outcomes among children.
In his keynote address, the Rt. Hon. Sir Nick Gibb, the United Kingdom’s longest-serving Minister of State for Schools, said Kano State Government has demonstrated an ambitious commitment to transforming its education sector.
Representing Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, the Technical Adviser on Education Reform, Haladu Mohammed, told the British Parliament that education remains the number one priority of the present administration.
He said Kano continues to allocate the highest proportion of its annual budget to education as part of efforts to rebuild the sector.
He disclosed that Kano currently has about five million pupils enrolled in schools across the state.
According to him, the state has over 8,000 formal schools and more than 14,000 Qur’anic schools that are being integrated into the formal education system.
He also noted that Kano still faces the challenge of over one million out-of-school children, making education reforms a top government priority.
Haladu explained that the state requires about 84,000 additional teachers to meet its growing educational needs.
He, however, revealed that the present administration has recruited about 20,000 new teachers within the last three years to reduce the manpower gap.
He further informed the forum that the government has introduced a new Teacher Development Policy under which teacher recruitment is based on the specific needs of individual communities.
He added that the government has also designed an Accelerated Basic Education Programme to provide learning opportunities for over-age out-of-school children and integrate pupils from Qur’anic schools into the formal education system.
In a message delivered on his behalf, Governor Abba Kabir-Yusuf reaffirmed his administration’s unwavering commitment to restoring Kano’s educational excellence.
“Kano will spare no resources until the education sector is fully restored to its rightful place,” the Governor declared.
The international recognition at the UK Parliament further reflects growing global confidence in Kano State’s education reforms and reinforces the state’s position as a reference point for educational transformation in Nigeria and beyond.
The meeting was attended by education experts in the United Kingdom and Nigerians in the diaspora, including Mrs. Hindy Mohammed, Dr. Amina Abubakar, Professor Paunile Dixon and her research fellow, Dr. Steve Humble of Newcastle University.
In his contribution, the Kano State Commissioner for Religious Affairs, Sheikh Ahmad Tijjani Sani Auwal, said the integration of Islamic schools will provide an opportunity to increase literacy and numeracy in Kano communities.
Sheikh Ahmad Tijjani Sani Auwal appreciated the British Parliament for the opportunity to discuss the successes recorded by the present Gida Gida administration of Governor Abba Kabir-Yusuf.
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