Commissioner urges Northern states to replicate Kaduna’s education reforms

Kaduna State Commissioner of Education, Prof. Abubakar Sani Sambo, has called on northern state governments to emulate Governor Uba Sani’s approach to education reform, citing a string of landmark investments that have transformed access, infrastructure, and learning outcomes across the state.

Prof. Sambo made the call on Thursday during the combined convocation lecture of Saádu Zungur University, Bauchi, where he delivered a paper titled “Education, Security and Sustainable Development: The Role of Universities in Northern Nigeria.”

According to a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Uba Sani, Malam Ibraheem Musa, the commissioner said the Kaduna State Government had returned more than 300,000 out-of-school children to classrooms and implemented inclusive education policies covering girls, children with disabilities, and learners displaced by conflict.

On infrastructure, Prof. Sambo said the state had constructed over 60 new secondary schools, built more than 2,300 primary school classrooms, and renovated hundreds of existing facilities. The government also trained over 33,000 teachers and education officers to strengthen pedagogy and school management.

The reforms, he said, have produced measurable results: the proportion of students passing the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination with five credits has risen from approximately 54 per cent to 67 per cent.

The commissioner also highlighted the state’s push on technical and vocational education, noting that the newly established Kaduna State Institute of Vocational Training and Skills Development (KIVTSD) is designed to produce 12,000 certified artisans annually. The institute operates three centres — in Soba, Rigachikun, and Samarun Kataf — spread across the three senatorial zones of the state.

Courses offered include welding, aluminium fabrication, fashion design, and solar panel installation, with graduates issued certificates upon completing their programmes.