K-SAFE Calls for Data-Driven Action on 875,593 Out-of-School Children in Kano

By Uzair Adam

The Kano State Accountability Forum on Education (K-SAFE) has called for urgent and coordinated action to reduce the number of out-of-school children in the state, following the findings of the 2026 Kano State Out-of-School Children (OOSC) Household Survey.

The call was contained in a statement by Dr. Auwalu Halilu, Co-chair of the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) component of K-SAFE, welcoming the completion and presentation of the survey conducted across the 44 Local Government Areas of Kano State.

According to the forum, the survey estimates that 13.34 per cent of children aged between five and 18 in Kano State are out of school, representing approximately 875,593 children.

K-SAFE described the survey as an important milestone in addressing one of the state’s most critical educational challenges, saying the availability of credible, disaggregated and geographically specific data would provide a stronger basis for planning, resource allocation, implementation, monitoring and accountability.

The forum, however, said the findings demanded urgent and sustained intervention, noting that the survey identified significant disparities in out-of-school rates across Local Government Areas and highlighted poverty and financial constraints, school-related factors, family and cultural circumstances, child-related factors, distance and other structural barriers as key factors responsible for children remaining outside the formal education system.

Halilu said the findings also provided an important basis for optimism, particularly the high level of parental support for education recorded by the survey.

“Particularly encouraging is the finding that 99.6 per cent of caregivers consider children’s education important or very important,” he said.

According to him, the finding showed that the out-of-school children crisis could not simply be attributed to a lack of interest in education among parents and caregivers.

He said the challenge was more strongly linked to issues of accessibility, affordability, quality, retention and the capacity of the education system to respond to vulnerable children and families.

K-SAFE therefore urged the Kano State Government and other education stakeholders to ensure that the survey does not remain a document on the shelves but becomes a roadmap for coordinated interventions aimed at drastically reducing and ultimately eliminating the number of out-of-school children in the state.

The forum called for the strengthening and enforcement of compulsory basic education, stressing that enforcement must be accompanied by practical measures to make education accessible, affordable, safe, inclusive and attractive to children and their families.

It also urged the government to prioritise Local Government Areas, wards and communities with the highest burden of out-of-school children rather than applying uniform interventions across the state.

According to K-SAFE, resources should be allocated based on the specific needs identified by the survey, particularly in areas recording disproportionately high OOSC rates.

The forum further called for the strengthening of the Kano State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) to expand access to education, improve school infrastructure, provide adequate teachers and learning materials, strengthen school-level monitoring and enhance the quality of basic education.

It said particular attention should be given to school proximity, teacher availability, retention and the transition of children between different levels of education.

K-SAFE also advocated greater investment in non-formal and alternative education, arguing that formal schooling alone could not adequately respond to the diverse circumstances of all out-of-school children.

It called on the Kano State Agency for Mass Education (SAME) to receive increased institutional, financial, human and material support to expand flexible and community-based programmes, literacy centres, second-chance education and vocational learning opportunities.

The forum further called for stronger support for Qur’anic, Tsangaya and Islamiyya education, particularly through the integration of foundational literacy and numeracy, basic education, life skills and vocational competencies into appropriate learning environments.

K-SAFE said the measure was particularly important given the survey’s findings concerning children attending Tsangaya and Almajiri schools and the significant representation of boys among the out-of-school population.

The organisation also urged the Science and Technical Schools Board and other relevant technical and vocational education institutions to provide flexible skills-development pathways for older out-of-school children, adolescents and young people.

It said non-formal education should go beyond basic literacy and numeracy to include vocational skills, entrepreneurship, digital literacy, financial literacy and employability competencies capable of helping young people transition into productive livelihoods.

K-SAFE further stressed the need to address the economic and social conditions that contribute to children dropping out of school.

The forum said education interventions should be linked with social protection, poverty reduction, school feeding where feasible, community mobilisation, child protection, livelihood support and other measures designed to address the underlying conditions pushing children out of school.

It also called for the establishment of a comprehensive monitoring and accountability framework to track progress in reducing the state’s out-of-school population.

According to the forum, the 2026 survey should serve as a baseline for continuous monitoring through an integrated system involving the Ministry of Education, SUBEB, SAME, relevant Qur’anic and Tsangaya education authorities, technical education institutions, Local Government structures, traditional institutions, civil society organisations and development partners.

K-SAFE said Kano State now had an opportunity to move from evidence to policy, from policy to implementation and ultimately from implementation to measurable results.

“Every child identified by this survey represents more than a statistic. Each represents a future that can be transformed through appropriate education, skills, protection and opportunity,” Halilu said.

The forum congratulated the Kano State Government, the Ministry of Education and development partners on the completion and presentation of the survey, while urging all stakeholders to work together to translate its findings into concrete interventions.

It identified government agencies, development partners, civil society organisations, traditional and religious leaders, communities, parents and the private sector as critical actors in addressing the out-of-school children crisis.

Halilu said the availability of the data had provided the state with a clearer understanding of the scale and nature of the challenge, adding that the priority should now shift to implementation.

“The data are now available. The barriers are clearer. The priority must now be ACTION,” he said.

K-SAFE expressed optimism that with coordinated interventions and adequate resources, Kano State could substantially reduce the number of out-of-school children and progressively ensure that every child has access to quality basic education, alternative learning opportunities and relevant skills for productive citizenship and sustainable livelihoods.