Jigawa Government Allocates N1.5 Billion to Religious Centres Amid Alarming Out-of-School Children Crisis

[Student Village]

The Jigawa State government, under Governor Umar Namadi, has spent N1.5 billion in just three months on the construction and renovation of mosques and other religious structures, even as the state faces an education crisis with over 820,000 out-of-school children.

This expenditure was revealed in the state’s “Third Quarter (July – September) 2024 Budget Performance” report, which was published on the government’s official website.

Breakdown of Expenditures

According to the document:

• N1.04 billion was spent on the construction of new mosques and other religious structures.
• An additional N458.47 million was allocated to the completion of ongoing religious construction projects.

Educational Challenges in Jigawa

Jigawa ranks as the fifth state in Nigeria with the highest number of out-of-school children. According to the Education Sector Support Programme in Nigeria (ESSPIN), over 820,000 children aged 3 to 18 are out of school in the state.

At a recent meeting with the Jigawa State House of Assembly in Kaduna, Mohammed Farah, Chief of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Kano Field Office, painted a grim picture of the state’s education system:

• Only 16.8% of children in the state are enrolled in school.
• 44% of primary school-age children and 52% of secondary school-age children are not attending school.
• Foundational literacy and numeracy levels in the state remain critically low.

UNICEF’s Call to Action

Farah urged the state government to prioritize education reform to address this crisis. He emphasized the need for urgent interventions ahead of the 2026/2027 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS).

“This situation is depriving children of their fundamental right to universal basic education and creating a significant educational gap,” Farah said. He called for radical changes in Jigawa’s educational policies to close this gap and ensure more children gain access to schooling.

Public Concerns

The allocation of N1.5 billion to religious structures has sparked concerns about government priorities, especially in a state grappling with severe educational challenges. Critics argue that such funds could have been better directed toward addressing the education crisis, improving infrastructure, and boosting enrollment rates in schools.

While the importance of religious and cultural heritage cannot be understated, many believe that balancing such investments with urgent educational reforms is crucial for the state’s long-term development.

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