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A report from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has revealed that more than 536,000 children are not attending school in Katsina State, showing a growing problem in the region’s education system.
Mr. Rahama Mohammed Farah, Chief of UNICEF’s Kano Field Office, shared this figure during a press briefing for the International Day of Education (IDE) 2025. He pointed out that this situation is part of a wider education crisis in Northwest Nigeria, where access to and the quality of education are major concerns.
The report highlights several challenges, including limited access to education, lack of funding, and poor quality of schooling. According to the 2021 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), Katsina is responsible for a significant share of Nigeria’s 10.2 million out-of-school children.
Various factors contribute to this issue, such as poverty, cultural barriers, and poor school infrastructure. Even children who are in school often struggle with learning. Less than 26% can read at the right level, and only 25% have basic numeracy skills. These problems could harm the state’s future development.
In response, UNICEF has been running programs to help improve the situation. These include working with community leaders to encourage school attendance, helping families in need, improving school facilities, training teachers, and rebuilding schools. UNICEF is also focusing on providing girls with life skills to ensure everyone has access to education.
On this International Day of Education, UNICEF called on the Katsina State government to invest more in education, release funds on time, build more schools, and hire more qualified teachers.
“Education is a basic right and key to the future. With over half a million children out of school in Katsina, action is needed now to help the youth in the state,” Farah said.
UNICEF promised to keep working with the Katsina State government and other partners to improve education and give every child the chance to learn and grow.
