Protect education funds, Activist tells Northern govs

From: Femi Oyelola in Kaduna

A concerned activist and member of the Civil Society for Impact, Yusuf Ishaku Goje, has urged governors of the nineteen Northern States in Nigeria to protect allocated education funds from budget cuts during revision to improve education in the North.

He stated this in his analysis of the budget allocations for education titled, “Beyond Budget Headlines: Unpacking Northern Nigeria’s Education Funding Reality,”  made available to the media in Kaduna yesterday.

Mr. Yusuf lamented that Northern Nigeria’s education sector is plagued with challenges.

“With the highest number of out-of-school children and alarming levels of learning poverty, the region’s educational landscape is worrisome. Despite receiving substantial annual budget allocations, many states fail to meet the 26% benchmark for education, exacerbating the issue.

“In 2025, the nineteen Northern States have a combined approved total budget of N11.40 trillion, with N1.78 trillion – representing 15.67% – allocated to education. The education sector’s allocation is broken down into N1.09 trillion (61.15%) for capital expenditure and N694.57 billion (38.85%) for recurrent expenditure.

“The northwest geo-political zone has the highest education allocation in the region, with N896.32 billion – representing 19.68% – out of a total budget of N4.55 trillion. Following closely is the North-central, with N506.04 billion allocated to education out of a total budget of N4.15 trillion. Meanwhile, the North-east allocated 14.32% of its N2.69 trillion budget, amounting to N385.45 billion, to the education sector.

“Kaduna State led with N206.60 billion allocated to education, followed by Kano with N199.93 billion and Jigawa with N177.28    billion. On the lower end, Gombe, Plateau, and Taraba States allocated N53.65 billion, N49.72 billion, and N45.80 billion, respectively. In terms of percentage, Kano topped with 27.77%, followed by Kaduna with 26.14% and Jigawa with 25.38%.”