Jigawa State Government has adopted a 10-year Education Sector Plan developed by the National Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), to improve access to quality education and learning outcomes across the state.

The Commissioner for Universal Basic Education, Lawal Yunusa Danzomo, said the plan provides a framework for improving enrolment, retention, transition and completion, while addressing teacher performance, learning materials, infrastructure, school security and other factors required for a conducive learning environment.

Speaking during the adoption of the plan, Danzomo said its success would depend largely on effective implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

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He said relevant education agencies would be assigned specific responsibilities under the 10-year framework to ensure its effective implementation.

The commissioner said the state government had intensified efforts to reduce the number of out-of-school children through community mobilisation, school construction and the involvement of political appointees, who had been given targets to return children to school.

According to him, more than 200,000 children previously identified as being out of school had been brought back into the education system, while political appointees had collectively returned more than 100,000 children to school in their respective communities.

He added that some political appointees had enrolled hundreds and, in some cases, thousands of children, saying the government would continue to implement measures to ensure that every school-age child had access to education.

Danzomo said the number of out-of-school children in the state had declined from previously reported figures of more than 700,000 to below 500,000, although he acknowledged that more work was required to achieve the desired target.

The commissioner also explained that the state had adopted a broader approach to defining school participation, noting that children receiving Islamic education under the Almajiri system were not considered completely out of school because they were receiving education through the Islamic system.

On the condition of schools across the state, Danzomo attributed some recent deterioration to windstorms and heavy rainfall, which damaged several school structures.

He said the government was responding to the situation, disclosing that more than N1.5 billion had been earmarked for rehabilitation works, with the bidding process already underway.

He further disclosed that contracts worth about N5.3 billion had recently been awarded through the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) for the construction and renovation of schools, provision of furniture and teaching materials, as well as boreholes and toilet facilities.

Danzomo said all relevant education stakeholders, including the ministries responsible for higher and basic education, SUBEB, the Science and Technical Education Board, Mass Education and Nomadic Education, would participate in implementing the plan.

Also speaking, UNICEF Education Specialist, Muttaka Mokhtar Muhammad, described the adoption of the plan as a “historic moment”, saying it was designed to provide clear direction for education development in Jigawa over the next decade.

Muhammad said the plan placed children at the centre of education planning, with emphasis on expanding access, improving learning quality and strengthening systems capable of responding to children’s needs.

He explained that while the 10-year Education Sector Plan covers all 27 local government areas of the state, a separate three-year operational plan focuses on 10 local government areas supported under the European Union-funded programme.

According to him, UNICEF, with support from the European Union, worked with the state government, civil society organisations, communities and other stakeholders to develop the plan and align resources with identified education priorities.

Representing the Director-General/Chief Executive of NIEPA, Dr A.D. Shofoyeke, said the institute had collaborated with UNICEF to develop Education Sector Plans for Lagos, Jigawa, Enugu, Sokoto and Adamawa states.

He said the initiative addressed key challenges including access to education, reduction of out-of-school children, inclusive education, quality teaching and learning, infrastructure, teacher training, curriculum enhancement, management efficiency, stakeholder engagement and funding.

Shofoyeke stressed that the exercise was not merely about producing policy documents but ensuring effective implementation and measurable results.

He urged the state government to use the operational plans as a basis for preparing annual education budgets.

He expressed confidence that the partnership between NIEPA, UNICEF and participating states would strengthen education systems, improve access to quality education and create better opportunities for children to realise their full potential.