The Partnership for Learning for All in Nigeria (PLANE), an education initiative funded by the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), has disclosed that about 25% of primary schools in Kano State rely on a single teacher to instruct all six grades.
This revelation was made on Thursday during the presentation of findings from the Learning Outcomes Assessment, conducted in PLANE-supported Local Government Areas (LGAs) after two years of intervention in Kano State.
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Data from the assessment, collected through PLANE’s School Support Officers, showed that the average pupil-teacher ratio in the assessed LGAs is 131 children per teacher. This figure is nearly four times UNESCO’s recommended ratio of 35:1.
The data also highlighted alarming levels of absenteeism among teachers and learners. Additionally, 79% of classrooms lack basic learning materials such as pencils and exercise books.
Despite these challenges, the findings revealed significant improvements in literacy and mathematics in schools supported by PLANE across the LGAs.
Speaking at the event, Joseph Wales, FCDO’s Education Adviser, emphasized the importance of partnerships to sustain the progress. “PLANE and the British Council have demonstrated the potential of these approaches to improve learning outcomes despite significant challenges. Now we must use these as a catalyst for working in partnership at all levels in Kano – community, LGA, and state – to improve education for all,” he said.
Sam Achimugu, PLANE’s Deputy National Team Lead, acknowledged the state government’s commitment to addressing these issues. “We are working with the government to ensure learners in the state perform better in foundational literacy and numeracy skills, beyond the LGAs where we currently work. However, there are some systemic challenges that stakeholders need to collaboratively address,” Achimugu stated.
Reacting to the findings, stakeholders commended PLANE’s efforts in improving learning outcomes while highlighting the uneven distribution of teachers. They called for redeployment of overstaffed teachers in metropolitan areas to address the acute shortages in rural schools.
