When the commissioner of Basic and Secondary Education, Zainab Musa Musawa, addressed a gathering at the inauguration of the Katsina State Education Sector Coordination Committee, her words were carefully balanced between celebration and caution.
She spoke with pride about the giant strides already taken in transforming education under the leadership of Governor Dikko Umaru Radda. Yet, she did not shy away from admitting the stubborn challenges that haunt the sector.
That dual tone hope on one hand and realism on the other, captured the state of education in Katsina today: a system in transition, moving forward but still carrying heavy burdens.
The pace of reform has been visible across the state in recent months. School buildings, once in ruins, are receiving a facelift, with over a hundred and fifty renovated or newly constructed structures now dotting communities.
Entirely new model secondary schools are springing up in each senatorial zone, designed to serve as symbols of modern learning environments. For many children, classrooms that once leaked in the rain or cracked under the sun are replaced with dignified spaces that encourage teaching and learning.
The state has also made teachers the heart of its reform. More than seven thousand new teachers have been recruited, while existing ones undergo continuous training to strengthen their knowledge of critical subjects like Mathematics, English, and Science.
Beyond numbers, however, the government is pushing for innovation: an ongoing EU-UNESCO project is enhancing teachers’ digital literacy, equipping them with modern ICT skills that align classrooms in Katsina with global standards of instruction.
This renewed attention is not just about infrastructure or staffing. It extends to the delicate question of access, particularly for girls.
Through the World Bank–supported AGILE project and complementary state initiatives, girl-friendly facilities have been built, learning materials provided, and families supported with conditional cash transfers to reduce the pressure that often drives girls out of school.
Thousands of adolescent girls are now not only staying in school but are thriving under mentorship programmes, digital literacy training, and life skills development. For many, the classroom has become a space of empowerment rather than exclusion.
Even more striking is the ambition to blend tradition with innovation. For instance, the “Catch Them Young” initiative is designed to discover and nurture talents in science, arts, and technology.
Through competitions, boot camps, and creative challenges, the government is signalling that education must go beyond rote learning and prepare young people to innovate and compete in a rapidly changing world.
Partnerships are central to this vision. International organisations like UNICEF, Save the Children, and TESS have joined the state in supporting reforms, while establishing an Education Trust Fund provides a pathway for sustaining investments over the long term.
Yet, if the Commissioner’s optimism was genuine, so too was her frankness about the hurdles that remain. Insecurity is perhaps the single greatest threat to the state’s education goals.
Communities across Katsina have witnessed attacks that forced the closure or relocation of schools. In such places, classrooms stand ready, teachers are willing, but parents are afraid. This has resulted in declining enrolment, widening gaps in learning, and a sense of fragility that money alone cannot fix.
Teacher shortages persist in rural areas, where hardship and isolation make it difficult to post or retain qualified staff. In several communities, infrastructure gaps remain acute, with children still learning under trees or in makeshift shelters, while many classrooms lack basic furniture.
Despite efforts to restore integrity through strict monitoring and training of invigilators, examination malpractice continues to undermine the credibility of the state’s education system.
Funding, too, remains inadequate, with needs far outweighing available resources. As the commissioner admitted, the absence of a unified, standardised curriculum makes coordination across schools more complex than it should be.
Against this background, the Katsina State government has embarked on perhaps its boldest step yet: the digital transformation of its teaching workforce. Last week, Acting Governor Faruq Lawal Jobe launched a programme to retrain eighteen thousand teachers and distribute twenty thousand tablets preloaded with digital resources.
In his words, this is not just about statistics but a strategic investment in the future of Katsina’s children. By equipping teachers with the necessary tools and skills, the state is attempting to align its education system with global practices that prepare young learners for the challenges of the twenty-first century.
This digital initiative’s symbolism is powerful. Teachers in Katsina have long battled low morale, inadequate pay, and limited professional support.
By handing them tablets, backed by a structured cascade of training led by ninety master trainers, the state is signalling that teachers are not just employees but the engine of transformation.
The government has complemented this effort with measures to strengthen accountability and school leadership, such as mandatory competency tests for principals, unscheduled inspections, and leadership workshops for administrators.
Monitoring officers have even been provided with motorcycles to improve school supervision, especially in remote areas where oversight is often weakest.
However, whether these ambitious policies can achieve their intended impact will depend on execution. Distributing tablets is one thing; ensuring they are actively used to enrich classrooms is another.
Building new schools is vital; keeping them safe from attacks is even more critical. Recruiting thousands of teachers helps, but retaining them in rural communities requires incentives that match the challenges they face.
The commissioner was clear that this is not a task the government can shoulder alone. She called for the continued involvement of development partners, school leaders, parents, and traditional institutions, urging them to align their interventions with the state’s priorities and to contribute ideas and resources.
What emerges from this moment is a picture of a state daring to reimagine its education system while grappling with the realities that threaten to pull it back.
Katsina is trying to write a different story for its children, replacing fear with opportunity, neglect with dignity, and stagnation with innovation. Yet this story is still unfolding, fragile in parts, uncertain in others.
The reforms’ success will depend on whether they survive the test of insecurity, the scarcity of resources, and the ever-present challenge of political continuity.
For now, what is certain is that the conversation has shifted.
Education is no longer treated as an afterthought in Katsina. It is positioned as the foundation of development, measuring whether the state can build a generation of disciplined, skilled, and innovative leaders.
If the current momentum is sustained, 2025 may well be remembered as the year when Katsina began to truly transform education, not with slogans but with actions that reached classrooms and touched the lives of children.
