Kano Emerges Highest Education Spending Ranking In West Africa
…… As University of Paris shares 2026 Education Spending index report
By Abdullahi Yusuf
Kano, Nigeria’s most populous state declared top most ECOWAS Education Spending Ranking as State’s Investment Gains Regional Recognition
Kano State has emerged as the highest-ranked sub-national government in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for education spending, according to the latest Sub-National Education Spending Index developed by the University of Paris.
The ranking places Kano first among 209 first-level sub-national governments across 15 ECOWAS member countries, highlighting the state’s sustained investment in the education sector.
The development comes after the Kano State Government declared a state of emergency on education, committing itself to addressing long-standing challenges in the sector through increased funding, improved infrastructure and enhanced access to quality learning.
Since the declaration, the administration has consistently allocated one of the highest proportions of its annual budget to education, directing resources towards the construction and rehabilitation of schools, recruitment of teachers, provision of learning materials and expansion of educational opportunities across the state.
According to the published index, Kano recorded an overall S-WAESI score of 87.21, outperforming other top-performing regions, including Dakar and Saint-Louis in Senegal. Lagos State was the next highest-ranked Nigerian state, placing 16th overall.
The assessment employed the Sub-National Weighted Aggregate Education Spending Index (S-WAESI), which measures government commitment to education based on actual education expenditure, spending per student, budget execution, education priority, transparency and evidence-based reporting.
The methodology allocates 35 points to actual education spending, 25 points to spending per student, 20 points to budget execution, 10 points to education priority and another 10 points to transparency.
The report noted that Kano excelled mainly because of its strong actual education spending and effective budget execution, making it the best-performing sub-national government in the ECOWAS region.
The ranking covered states, regions, districts and municipalities across Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Togo, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde.
The Kano State Accountability Forum on Education (K-SAFE) said the recognition reflects the state government’s sustained commitment to expanding access to education, improving school infrastructure and strengthening educational planning and budget implementation.
Education stakeholders say the latest ranking validates Kano’s policy direction following the declaration of the state of emergency on education and reinforces the importance of sustained public investment in improving learning outcomes and human capital development.
It could be recalled that Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf allocated 29.5 and 30 percent of the state’s annual budget to education in 2024 and 2025 respectively.
The budget was backed by the declaration of the state of emergency on education to cater for the decay and dilapidation of the sector.
Gov. Yusuf, in partnership with International Development Partners, created a wholistic education recovery plan to ensure a targeted impact of the massive investment in education sector.