Kaduna: Basic education is a right, not privilege — Uba Sani

Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to ensuring that every child of school age has access to basic education before the end of his tenure.

The Executive Chairman of the Kaduna State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB, Mubarak Mohammed, disclosed this on Wednesday during the 2026/2027 school enrolment campaign advocacy at the Sheikh Abubakar Gumi Market in Kaduna.

Mr Mubarak, who spoke on behalf of the governor, said the administration considered access to basic education a fundamental right of every child in the state and would continue to take measures to ensure that no child of school age was left out of school.

“Education is a right in Kaduna State under Governor Uba Sani’s administration. Basic education is free and it is not a privilege. So, it is an offence for children of school age to roam the streets during school hours,” he said.

The SUBEB chairman expressed concern over the high number of out-of-school children across Northern Nigeria but said Kaduna State had made significant progress in reversing the trend.

According to him, the Uba Sani administration has successfully returned more than 360,000 children to school, significantly reducing the number of out-of-school children previously estimated at over 500,000 in the state.

“Governor Uba Sani has successfully returned more than 360,000 children back to schools. This effort has reduced the over 500,000 out-of-school children that were previously in the streets,” he said.

Mr Mubarak urged parents and guardians to take advantage of the government’s free basic education policy by enrolling their children and wards in schools.

He described education as a powerful tool for social mobility, capable of transforming the lives of children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

“Education is the greatest leveller which can elevate children of humble backgrounds to enviable heights,” he said.

To accommodate the growing number of pupils returning to school, the SUBEB chairman disclosed that the state government had constructed more than 2,000 classrooms across the state.

He said the additional infrastructure was part of efforts to ensure that increased school enrolment did not put undue pressure on existing facilities.

The remarks were made as part of the state’s 2026/2027 School Enrolment Campaign launched last Wednesday to encourage parents and guardians to enrol all children of school age in school.

As part of the campaign, senior government officials, education stakeholders and SUBEB staff embarked on a road walk from the Kaduna State Secretariat to the Sheikh Abubakar Gumi Market.

The exercise was aimed at raising public awareness about the importance of basic education and encouraging families to ensure that children were enrolled and remained in school.

The campaign also yielded an immediate result, as five children presented themselves for enrolment during the advocacy programme at the market.

Following the development, Mubarak directed relevant education officials to ensure that the children were immediately enrolled in primary schools.

The SUBEB chairman said the government would continue to work with parents, communities and other stakeholders to address the factors responsible for children being out of school and ensure that the state’s education policy translated into actual access for every child.

The campaign is part of the Kaduna State Government’s broader efforts to reduce the number of out-of-school children and strengthen access to quality basic education across the state.