Kano Moves To Sustain UK-Backed Education Reforms

As the United Kingdom-funded Partnership for Learning for All in Nigeria (PLANE) programme prepares to wind down after five years of implementation, the Kano State Government has pledged to sustain and institutionalise the reforms introduced under the initiative to ensure lasting improvements in the state’s education sector.

Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf made the commitment at the PLANE Transition Workshop in Kano, where stakeholders reviewed the programme’s achievements and mapped out strategies for transferring ownership of key interventions to the state government.

Represented by the Commissioner for Education, Dr. Ali Abubakar Haruna Makoda, the governor described education as the bedrock of sustainable development, saying his administration was committed to preserving the progress made through the partnership.

According to a statement issued by the governor’s spokesperson, Sunusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, Yusuf said the government would strengthen education planning, invest in teacher development, expand access to quality learning materials and improve learning outcomes across public schools.

He assured development partners that reforms introduced under the programme would not end with the project’s closure but would be integrated into the state’s education policies and institutions.

One of the programme’s major achievements, the governor noted, was the generation of reliable data on out-of-school children through a comprehensive household survey, providing the government with evidence needed to design targeted interventions to address one of Kano’s biggest education challenges.

He also highlighted PLANE’s contribution to improving foundational literacy and numeracy through large-scale teacher training and the provision of instructional materials to schools across the state.

Yusuf commended the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Save the Children International and other consortium partners for supporting education reforms in Kano over the past five years.

He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to deepening collaboration with local and international development partners to sustain the gains already recorded and accelerate progress toward inclusive, quality education.

As part of the transition workshop, the Kano State Ministry of Education presented a Letter of Appreciation to the PLANE programme in recognition of its contributions to education development, particularly its support for the Accelerated Basic Education Programme (ABEP). The award was received by Save the Children International’s Education Manager, Stephen Sawa.

The workshop brought together representatives of the British High Commission, UNICEF, civil society organisations, development partners and senior government officials, who endorsed strategies aimed at strengthening government ownership of the reforms.

The transition marks a critical phase for Kano’s education sector, as the state assumes greater responsibility for sustaining interventions designed to tackle poor learning outcomes, reduce the number of out-of-school children and improve the quality of basic education.