Inuwa Seeks Common Northern Policy Framework to Tackle Out-of-School Children

Gombe State Governor and Northern States Governors’ Forum chairman Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya called for a shared regional policy to sustain education reforms and reduce the number of out-of-school children. Speaking at the 2026 Barewa Old Boys Association biennial lecture in Gombe, he said his administration had brought about 350,000 children back to school from more than 500,000 identified in 2019, with measures including new schools, over 1,000 teachers and Almajiri Integrated Learning Centres. Yahaya proposed that the Governors’ Forum coordinate education policies across the 19 northern states, and said the effort must also address poverty and insecurity.