The Kano State Accountability Forum on Education (K-SAFE) has called on the state minister of Education Dr. Suwaiba Saeed Ahmad to prioritized addressing threats rocking educational sector in the country, not publicly attacking a state (Kano) that is working diligently to strengthen its educational system.
Dr. Auwalu Halilu, the Co-Chair of K-SAFE disclosed this in a statement sent to GLOBAL TRACKER on Sunday.
According to the statement, over the years, Kano state has made a remarkable progress in educational access, infrastructure expansion, teacher training and recruitment, school safety and community engagements.
The statement reads in full “The Kano State Accountability Forum on Education (K-SAFE) wishes to formally respond to the recent comment credited to the Honourable Minister of State for Education, which portrays Kano State as lagging behind in educational development.
As a forum committed to evidence-based advocacy and constructive engagement, we find the statement misleading, unbalanced, and inconsistent with verifiable realities in the state.
Over the years, Kano State has made remarkable progress in educational access, infrastructure expansion, teacher training, school safety, community engagement, and the strengthening of accountability mechanisms.
These improvements have not only been acknowledged by key stakeholders but have also been applauded publicly by the Honourable Minister of Education (the Senior Minister) on several occasions. This makes the recent remark by the Minister of State both surprising and unnecessary.
Furthermore, the debate around mother-tongue instruction should not be used as a basis to undermine Kano’s efforts.
While mother-tongue education is a global best practice, this is not the fundamental problem facing Nigeria’s education system at this critical moment.
Education across the country is under attack at multiple levels, ranging from insecurity, abductions, declining learning outcomes, to insufficient funding and weak school safety systems.
Therefore, the priority of the Federal Ministry of Education should be addressing these pressing national threats, not publicly attacking a state that is working diligently to strengthen its education sector.
Kano’s achievements remain evident:
Reduction in out-of-school children through innovative AEP/Second Chance programmes, Qur’anic system integration, and community enrolment drives.
Investment in school rehabilitation, teacher recruitment and retraining, provision of instructional materials, and ICT-supported learning.
Strong collaboration between government, development partners, communities, and civil society, leading to improved transparency and accountability.
Reforms in girl-child education, inclusive education, and school safety that continue to serve as best-practice models nationally.
While challenges remain, as in every state in the federation, it is counterproductive to overlook progress or to politicize sensitive issues. Nigeria needs unity of purpose, not public criticisms that weaken collective efforts.
K-SAFE calls on all leaders to rely on accurate data, objective assessments, and respectful engagement in addressing the complex challenges confronting our education sector.
We reaffirm our commitment to working with all levels of government to protect education, advance reforms, and ensure that every child in Kano State learns in a safe and supportive environment.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) Kano State Wing strongly condemns the recent claim credited to the Minister of State for Education Professor Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmed that Kano teachers “teach in local language even at senior secondary schools levels.” This claim is false, misleading and not supported by facts.
Comrade Baffa Ibrahim Garko, the Chairman of NUT Kano state wing disclosed this also in a statement sent to GLOBAL TRACKER.
According to Baffa, Kano teachers are professionally recruited, duly registered with the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) and trained to teach according to national curriculum standards at both basic and secondary schools levels and for the minister education (State) to make such statement is rather unfortunate.
The minister has forgotten that a teacher cannot teach certain subjects like those in science in Hausa language, contrary to her claims as alleged.
Kano State has recently recruited over 4,315 qualified teachers and another 400 mathematics teachers recently. The state is expanding in-service training and mentorship for teachers across subjects including science mathematics and continues to strengthen teacher capacity at basic and post-basic levels hence deserve commendation from the federal ministry.
NUT Kano demands that the Minister retract the statement and apologies for the undue damage caused to the reputation of Kano teachers, Kano as a state she was born, grew and natured in.
We at NUT Kano remains committed to quality teaching and urge the federal Ministry of education to rely on verified TRCN data before making public pronouncements.