Stakeholders demand fiscal action for girls’ education in Kaduna

​From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

A group ​YouthHubAfrica, with support from the Malala Fund, convened a High-Level Dialogue in Kaduna on Monday to advocate for increased education funding, gender-responsive budgeting, and enhanced citizen engagement.
Stakeholders at the event sent a clear message to the state government: policy approvals must be backed by concrete fiscal implementation to ensure equitable benefits for both girls and boys.
​The dialogue drew a diverse group of participants, including officials from the Kaduna State Government, the State House of Assembly, the Ministry of Education, civil society organizations, development partners, and the media.
The platform served to identify persistent gaps in education funding, oversight, and inclusiveness.
​While participants lauded the recent approval of the Gender in Education Policy and the Life Skills Policy, they warned that these milestones remain hollow without sustained political will and the timely release of funds.
​Gbemisola Joel-Osoba, Partnership Manager at Malala Fund, commended Kaduna State for its historical commitment to education, noting that the state allocated an average of 26.8% of its annual budget to the sector between 2015 and 2025—well above the UNESCO benchmark of 15–20%.
​However, she raised concerns over a disconnect between high-level allocations and targeted spending.
Citing a budget review by YouthHubAfrica, Joel-Osoba revealed that over 90% of the state’s capital education budget lines are currently classified as “gender-neutral.”
Furthermore, dedicated allocations specifically for girls’ schools reportedly disappeared from the budget in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
​“Policy launch alone is not a destination. For policy commitments to produce lasting results for girls, they must be reflected not only in sector plans but also in the budgets that fund them,” she noted.
Joel-Osoba argued that budgets which ignore specific barriers—such as inadequate Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) facilities, unsafe transportation, and a shortage of female teachers—risk spending more money without improving outcomes for the most vulnerable girls.
​She called on Kaduna’s legislators to move beyond asking “how much” is being spent and start asking “who” the spending actually reaches.
​Reaffirming their commitment, the Malala Fund and YouthHubAfrica pledged to continue collaborating with the state to build an education system that is planned, funded, and governed with every child in mind.