Two million children in northern Nigeria learned through PLANE. Now states take over
As the UK-funded education programme closes in Kaduna, governors are asked to keep its methods going.
Kaduna — More than two million children in northern Nigeria have benefited from the Partnership for Learning for All in Nigeria (PLANE) since it began in 2019, and more than 25,000 teachers and facilitators have been trained.
The UK-funded programme held its close-out event in Kaduna on Wednesday. It was run by DAI, UNICEF, Save the Children and other partners, and focused on reading and maths basics, child protection and learning for children affected by emergencies.
"PLANE is closing. The UK's education partnership with Nigeria is not," said the British High Commissioner, Pete Vowles, who added that Nigerian institutions were already adopting the programme's approaches.
"It is now up to us"
Kaduna Governor Uba Sani, represented by his deputy, said the states must carry the work forward. "PLANE has done its part. It is now up to us, the state governments," he said.
He said Kaduna's basic school enrolment rose from 2.17 million in 2022 to more than 2.57 million in 2025, and that household mapping now counts 187,719 out-of-school children, against an estimated 535,000 when he took office. Education receives 25% of the state's ₦985.9 billion 2026 budget.
Folake Olatunji-David, acting permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, urged governments to build what worked into their policies and budgets, and to look beyond enrolment to attendance, completion and basic literacy.
Source: Premium Times, November 2026.
