UNICEF Calls For Increased Spending On Education In North West

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UNICEF Calls For Increased Spending On Education In North West

By: Ahmed Aminu, Dutse

The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has called on the governments of Jigawa, Kano and Katsina states to increase the funding of basic education to address barriers hindering access to qualitative education for children.

The Chief of UNICEF Field Office in Kano, Mr. Rahama Rihood Mohammed Farah, made the appeal during a press conference to mark the International Day of Education.

He said education is a fundamental human right and engine of development of every society.

The UNICEF official also urged the three states to adopt initiatives that provide equitable access to education for out of school children.

“It is therefore important for duty bearers and right holders to take action to address the barriers that hinder children from accessing quality basic education.”

“On this day 24th January 2025 when the global community is celebrating the International Day of Education, UNICEF calls on the Governments of Kano, Jigawa and Katsina to recruit more qualified teachers to fill existing gaps in the basic and post basic education sector, and strengthen the newly established Jigawa State Tsangaya Education Board to effectively implement its mandate”.

Farah noted that the UN General Assembly in December 2018 declared January 24 as the International Day of Education, with the day first celebrated in 2019.

He said since then, it has served as an advocacy moment for education, providing annually, a platform for a global call to action, emphasizing education’s role in fostering a well-informed, inclusive, and peaceful society.

“On the 2025 IDE, this media briefing is organized to leverage this advocacy, to highlight the significance of education and its role in fostering a well-informed, inclusive, and peaceful society.

“As you may be aware, the theme for the 2025 International Day of Education is, AI and Education: Preserving Human Agency in a World of Automation”.

Farah maintained that apart from discussions around the theme,  it was an opportunity to address emerging disruptive impact of Climate Change on learning.

“There are currently about 10.2 million children at the primary level who are out of school in Nigeria, 16 per cent of them are from Kano, Jigawa and Katsina states, according to MICS 2021.

“Close to one million children are out of school in Kano state (989,234); a total of 337,861 out of school children are in Jigawa, while Katsina state has 536,112 out of school children.

“According to MICS 2021, 32% of primary school going age children are out of school in Kano state.

“Unfortunately, budgetary appropriations to the education sector across Kano, Jigawa and Katsina have not been matched with actual release and spending of appropriated funds and this needs to be addressed,” Farah said.

He noted that Nigeria spends only 1.2 % of GDP on education, a far cry from the 6% envisaged under the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4.

Farah said although the states of Kano, Jigawa and Katsina had met and even exceeded the UNESCO bench mark when it comes to appropriation, actual releases were far short of funds appropriated.

The UNICEF official expressed appreciation to the European Union in its partnership on Education and Youth Empowerment programmes in Kano, Jigawa and Sokoto States.

“UNICEF further expresses appreciation to the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office for the partnership on the CRIBS project in Kano and Jigawa states,” he added.

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