The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), in collaboration with the Kano State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has launched a school enrolment campaign across Northern Nigeria to reduce the region’s high number of out-of-school children.

The initiative was flagged off at Lausu Primary School in Rano Local Government Area of Kano State under the Federal Government’s National Enrolment Initiative, which seeks to ensure that every school-age child is enrolled, retained, and completes basic education.

Representing UBEC Executive Secretary Aisha Garba at the event, Mr. Razaq Akinyemi said the programme would be supported with interventions to improve the learning environment, provide more learning materials, and strengthen teacher availability and quality.

“From challenges associated with the boy-child, girl-child, street children, Almajiri, to educating children with special needs we must put all hands on deck to address the challenge of low access to basic education,” she said.

The Director of Quality Education at the Federal Ministry of Education, Mr. Bello Rabe, who represented the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmed, reaffirmed the Tinubu administration’s commitment to revamping Nigeria’s education sector.

Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, represented by the Commissioner for Education, Ali Makoda, described the campaign as a “wake-up call” to address out-of-school challenges. He said the state government was remodeling and constructing school infrastructure across Kano and urged school heads to ensure that all school-age children are enrolled in the 2025–2026 academic session.

Speaking on behalf of Northern SUBEB Chairmen, Kano SUBEB Chairman, Malam Yusuf Kabir, appealed to parents, guardians, and stakeholders to support the campaign, describing education as “an investment in the future.”

UNICEF Chief of Field Office in Kano, Rahama Farah, represented by Officer-in-Charge Michael Banda, reaffirmed UNICEF’s commitment to tackling barriers to access, improving quality, and addressing systemic challenges in Nigeria’s education system.