K-SAFE Challenges Minister’s Comment, Says Kano’s Education Progress Cannot Be Ignored

By JB Danlami

The Kano State Accountability Forum on Education (K-SAFE) has strongly faulted a recent remark attributed to the Honourable Minister of State for Education, which portrayed Kano State as lagging behind in educational development. The forum described the comment as misleading, unbalanced, and inconsistent with verifiable evidence of ongoing reforms in the state.

In a press statement issued on Sunday, Co-Chair of K-SAFE, Dr. Auwalu Halilu, said Kano has made substantial strides in expanding access to education, improving school infrastructure, strengthening teacher capacity, enhancing school safety, and deepening community participation.

According to the forum, these achievements have been acknowledged by several national stakeholders — including the Honourable Minister of Education (the Senior Minister) — making the recent criticism by the Minister of State both surprising and disappointing.

Dr. Halilu noted that the current national debate on the use of mother-tongue instruction should not be used to unfairly discredit the state. While acknowledging global support for mother-tongue learning, he stressed that it is not the most pressing challenge confronting Nigeria’s education sector.

Across the country, schools are battling insecurity, mass abductions, declining foundational learning, inadequate funding, and fragile school safety systems. These are urgent national threats that deserve priority attention from the Federal Ministry of Education,” the statement read

K-SAFE highlighted several measurable achievements recorded by Kano State in recent years, including::

A major reduction in out-of-school children, driven by Alternative Education Programmes, Second-Chance initiatives, Qur’anic system integration, and community-led enrolment drives, substantial investments in school rehabilitation, teacher recruitment and retraining, instructional materials, and ICT-enabled learning.

Others  include strong collaboration with development partners, civil society, communities, and local authorities to promote transparency and accountability and reforms in girl-child education, inclusive education, and school safety, some of which now serve as national models of best practice, while acknowledging that challenges still exist — as they do in every state — K-SAFE warned against politicizing sensitive issues or downplaying genuine progress.

“Nigeria needs unity of purpose, not narratives that undermine collective effort,” Dr. Halilu stated.

The forum urged policymakers and public officials to rely on accurate data, objective assessments, and respectful dialogue when addressing the complex realities of the education sector.

K-SAFE reaffirmed its commitment to working with federal, state, and local governments to safeguard learning, support ongoing reforms, and ensure that every child in Kano State learns in a safe, inclusive, and supportive environment