Kano State has emerged as the highest-ranked sub-national government in West Africa for education spending, according to the 2026 Sub-National Education Spending Index released by the University of Paris.
The report ranked Kano first among 209 first-level sub-national governments across the 15 member states of the Economic Community of West African States, citing the state’s strong commitment to education funding and budget implementation.
Yusha’u Hamza Kafinchiri, a director at the Kano state ministry of Education in a chats with GLOBAL TRACKER correspondent said the latest ranking comes amid ongoing reforms by the administration of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, which had earlier declared a state of emergency in the education sector to address long-standing infrastructural decay, inadequate learning facilities and declining educational standards.
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Since the declaration, the Kano State Government has consistently allocated a significant portion of its annual budget to education, focusing on rehabilitation and construction of schools, recruitment of teachers, provision of instructional materials and expansion of access to quality education.
According to the report, Kano recorded an overall Sub-National Weighted Aggregate Education Spending Index (S-WAESI) score of 87.21, placing it ahead of several top-performing regions across West Africa, including Dakar and Saint-Louis in Senegal.
The report also identified Lagos as the next highest-ranked Nigerian state, placing 16th overall in the regional assessment.
The S-WAESI methodology evaluates sub-national governments based on actual education spending, expenditure per student, budget execution, education priority, transparency and evidence-based reporting.
According to the index framework, 35 points are allocated to actual education spending, 25 points to spending per student, 20 points to budget execution, while education priority and transparency account for 10 points each.
The report stated that Kano excelled mainly due to its strong actual expenditure on education and effective implementation of approved budgets, making it the best-performing sub-national government within the ECOWAS region.
The assessment covered states, municipalities, districts and regions across Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Togo, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde.
It could be recalled that Governor Yusuf allocated about 29.5 percent and 30 percent of Kano State’s annual budgets to education in 2024 and 2025 respectively — among the highest education budget allocations in Nigeria.
The administration also partnered with international development organisations to design a comprehensive education recovery plan aimed at revitalising the sector and improving learning outcomes across the state.
Stakeholders believe the latest regional recognition may further strengthen confidence in Kano’s education reforms and encourage sustained investment in the sector.