Governor Yusuf Reaffirms Commitment to Sustaining Education Reforms as UK-Funded PLANE Programme Ends

Kano State Governor, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to sustaining the education reforms introduced under the United Kingdom-funded Partnership for Learning for All in Nigeria (PLANE) programme, describing education as the foundation for the state’s future development.

This was contained in a statement issued by the Governor’s spokesman, Sunusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, on Saturday.

The Governor’s position was conveyed by the Commissioner for Education, Dr. Ali Abubakar Haruna Makoda, who represented him at the PLANE Transition Workshop held in Kano on Thursday.

Governor Yusuf said his administration would consolidate the gains recorded under the five-year programme by strengthening education planning, improving teacher development, expanding access to quality learning materials, and ensuring that every child has access to quality education.

He commended the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), PLANE, Save the Children International and other consortium partners for their invaluable support in transforming Kano’s education sector.

The Governor noted that the programme had helped the state generate credible data on out-of-school children through a comprehensive household survey, enabling government to design targeted interventions aimed at reducing the number of children outside the school system.

He also acknowledged PLANE’s contribution to improving foundational literacy and numeracy through teacher capacity building and the provision of teaching and learning materials across schools in the state.

Governor Yusuf assured development partners that Kano State would institutionalise the reforms introduced under the programme and continue investing in policies and initiatives that improve learning outcomes for children.

He reiterated his administration’s readiness to strengthen collaboration with local and international partners to ensure that the achievements recorded under PLANE are sustained for the benefit of future generations.

During the workshop, the Commissioner for Education presented a Letter of Appreciation to the PLANE Programme, represented by the Education Manager of Save the Children International, Stephen Sawa, in recognition of its outstanding contributions to education development in Kano, particularly its support for the Accelerated Basic Education Programme (ABEP).

The event was attended by representatives of the British High Commission, UNICEF, development partners, civil society organisations, education stakeholders and senior government officials, who collectively endorsed key transition actions aimed at sustaining the reforms through stronger government ownership and institutional collaboration.

Education - KNSG, PLANE organize 3-day Procurement Training For Planning Officers Under Education Sector

Press Statement:

Determined to enhance effective implementation of education sector public procurements law, Kano State Government in collaboration with Partnership For Learning For All in Nigeria (PLANE) organized 3-day training programme for members of the sector planning officers of the state ministry of education.

The training programme which took place at Tahir Guest Palace, also had participants from the procurement units of all the agencies under the education sector.

Addressing the Participants during the closing ceremony of the programme on Friday, the State Commissioner of Education Dr. Ali Haruna Makoda disclosed that the Workshop was intended to provide the participants with in-depth knowledge on procurement planning and its benefits for successful implementation.

Dr. Makoda represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry Alhaji Bashir Baffa Muhammad added that the training is in line with the present administration's policies of reviving the education sector through intensive workshop to enhance service delivery.

" The effort is part of the present administration's commitment to justify the recent declaration of state of emergency on education through training and retraining of our staff to achieve effective service delivery.

 " So my coming here is to see how the programme is going on and tell you that your engagement here is going to be a fruitful one " he stated.

He commended PLANE for partnering with Kano State Government on different educational development programmes and assured that the state would continue to give them all the necessary cooperation needed to achieve the intended goals.

To the participants, Makoda urged them to make the best use of what they had learnt during the the programme in improving their performance as planning and procurement officers.

In his remarks, the Project Consultant PLANE Mr. Chukwuma Chinaka revealed that during the training programme, participants were guided through various technical sessions regarding Kano State public financial management law as well as public procurement law.

Chukwuma further explained that as part of the training outcomes, the participants were exposed to the provision of the Kano State public procurement law, enhanced their compliance to the Kano State education sector implementation law and acquired basic knowledge on effective implementation of education sector procurements in Kano State 

Balarabe Abdullahi Kiru

Director Public Enlightenment

Ministry of Education, Kano State

1st February, 2025

Kano Government Strengthens Collaboration With PLANE To Revive Education Sector

Kano State Government has reiterated it's commitment in strengthening collaboration with Partnership For Leaning For All in Nigeria (PLANE) to revive the state education sector.

The State Commissioner of Education Dr. Ali Haruna Makoda gave the assurance on Tuesday while receiving a team from the PLANE (FCDO) office, Kano that paid him a courtesy visit in his office.

In a statement signed by the Director Public Enlightenment of the Ministry, Balarabe Abdullahi Kiru, said Dr. Ali Haruna noted that the intervention programmes implemented by PLANE in Kano had contributed a lot to the present administration's effort in ensuring quality education in the state.

The Commissioner stressed that Kano State Government under the leadership of Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf will therefore continue to work closely with PLANE to ensure proper implementation of its new policies on education for the benefit of people in the state.

" We have seen the programmes that you have been undertaking and all the supports you are giving to more especially Kano State Ministry of Education. This is the support that you give to the entire people of Kano State.

" From your good report, you almost taught every aspect of education which is quite interesting and there is no doubt that PLANE is complementing effort of this administration on education development, you are really partners in progress " Acknowledged Dr. Makoda.

On the requests made by the team on other areas of support from the government site, Dr. Ali Makoda said his ministry will ensure that all demands tabled by the PLANE will be adequately attended to achieve better results.

" So, as we really thank and appreciate your intervention programmes on education in Kano, we are still urging PLANE to fully engaged with present administration in providing access to quality education to address out of school syndicate " he stated.

Earlier, the state coordinator PLANE Umar Lawan said the team was at the Commissioner's office to intimate him on the numerous intervention programmes on education sector as executed in Kano by PLANE.

Umar Lawan explained that PLANE is a 7 year project funded by Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in UK and is divided in to three windows to deliver more educational supports to the affected states.

He revealed that in PLANE, there is window one that takes care of getting the system right by improving teaching and learning in schools while window two is given the task of addressing issues on education in emergency.

" We have window three that deals with interface between the programme and the community and it is interesting to note that window one which supports teaching and learning strengthening is operated in three states comprising Kano, Jigawa and Kaduna " he revealed.

He explained that under the project, over 8000 primary schools teachers were trained in Kano and the program was conducted with full collaboration of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB)

Other intervention programmes according to the team leader, include coordination of books distribution and other learning materials at the classroom level across the 532 schools in Kano, supporting 35 school based management committee that sensitized stakeholders on book care and maintenance among others.

Kano Inaugurates 14 - Member Committee To Review Education Policies

Following the recent declaration of State of Emergency on Education and the ongoing commitment in overhauling the state education sector, Kano State Government has inaugurated a high profiled 14 - Member Committee to review some existing policies on education.

Inaugurating the committee today Wednesday at the Kano Educational Resource Department (KERD) Conference Hall, the State Commissioner of Education Dr. Ali Haruna Makoda disclosed that the committee was constituted by the Kano State Executive Council to look in to the policies of education in the state.

" This committee is supposed to be inaugurated by His Excellency himself but due to official engagements, His Excellency has assigned me to inaugurate this very important committee so that by next week, we can swing in to action " he said 

In a statement signed by the Director Public Enlightenment of the Ministry, Balarabe Abdullahi Kiru, said, Dr. Ali Makoda outlined the committee terms of reference which include among others; to peruse the four existing policies on education and determine whether they aligned with cultural and religious belief of the state, to determine the feasibility of implementing the policies and whether they can help in strengthening the educational sector of the state and bring any other appropriate recommendations.

According to the Commissioner, the four education policies to be reviewed by the committee involved Kano State Girls' Education Policy, Kano State Gender Equity and Social Inclusion Policy, Kano State Non-State School Policy and Kano State Teacher Development Policy.

Members of the committee include Malam Abdullahi Muhd Dutse as Chairman, Professor Abdallah Uba Adamu, Executive Chairman Zakka and Hubsi Commission Barrister Habibu Dan Almajiri, Alhaji Danlami Garba, Kano State Commissioner Ministry of Women, Children and Disabled Affairs Hajiya Amina Abdullahi HOD and Isa Ahmad a retired Permanent Secretary.

Other Members include Special Adviser to the Governor on Emirate Council Professor Tijjani Muhammad Naniya, Malam Kabiru Sani Hanga, Munzali M. Mustapha, Special Adviser to the Governor on Higher Education Professor Auwal Halliru Arzai, Chief Imam Alfurqan Jumma'at Mosque Dr. Bashir Aliyu Umar, Representative of the Emirate Council, Representative of Civil Society Organizations Nura Ja'afar Kura and Ibrahim Bawa Director Archives and Publication as Secretary.

Dr. Makoda who announced that the committee was given three weeks to submit its report, urged the members to use their vast experiences in coming out with the good report that will enhance the state education sector.

Responding, the Chairman of the committee Malam Abdullahi Muhammad Dutse assured the Commissioner of their commitment to work as a team to justify the confidence reposed in them.

" If you look at the composition of the committee members, I am sure government has selected several areas which require our own intelligence to look in to the problem of education in this state. I believe we will do all the best we can to provide you with much needed report " he assured.

Celebrating One Year Achievements: Makoda Applauds KERD For Outstanding Performance

Kano State Commissioner of Education Dr. Ali Haruna Makoda has applauded the Director Kano Educational Resource Department (KERD) Hajiya Rabi Inuwa Hussain for her outstanding performance within one year in office.

In a statement signed by the Director Public Enlightenment of Kano Ministry of Education, Balarabe Abdullahi Kiru, said Dr. Ali Makoda was speaking today Tuesday at celebration of one year achievements in office organized by the Director Kano Educational Resource Department (KERD) held at the department premises.

Ali Makoda noted that the achievements recorded under the department within one year clearly show how the present administration of Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf is giving much priority to the education sector.

According to the Commissioner, His Excellency Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf is a Governor with passion especially on education sector, stressing that was the reason behind the Governor's proposal to allocate in 2025 budget 31% of the total budget to education sector.

" This is to show the highest level of commitment of His Excellency on education. We are fully aware of the recent declaration of state of emergency on education sector which also demonstrated government effort to revitalize the sector " he said.

The Commissioner further commended the Speaker Kano State House of Assembly and Members House Committee on Education for tirelessly supporting the new government policies on education especially with regard to proposed 2025 budget.

Ali Haruna who acknowledged the development brought about by the Director of KERD, urged the staff with whose contributions the Director recorded the success to maintain the tempo.

In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Education Alhaji Baffa Bashir Muhammad explained that a lots had been achieved in education sector under the present administration of Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf.

The Director Kano Educational Resource Department (KERD) Hajiya Rabi Inuwa Hussain attributed the achievements recorded to the collective efforts of her staff in transforming the education sector. 

" Over the past one year, we embarked on a journey of transforming our department in to a dynamic and efficient contributing to educational excellence in Kano State" she explained.

Enumerating the 39 achievements under the KERD in one year, Malam Yakubu disclosed that these transformation legacies under the department had paved ways for introducing many other projects embarked by the Director.

During the programme, the Commissioner went round to supervise some of the new projects initiated under the department.