Jigawa, Kano, Katsina lead out-of-school crisis — UNICEF

UNICEF has identified Jigawa, Kano, and Katsina as the states with the highest number of out-of-school children in Nigeria, accounting for nearly 30% of the national total of 18.3 million children. Aisha Abdullahi, an education consultant at the Kano Field Office, emphasized the importance of Early Childhood Care, Development, and Education (ECCDE) in preventing school dropout. She noted that access to ECCDE remains limited, especially in rural communities, despite its inclusion in Nigeria's Universal Basic Education framework.