Kano State has been ranked the highest-performing sub-national government in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for education spending, following years of increased investment in the sector under its education recovery programme.
The recognition came in the 2026 Sub-National Education Spending Index released by the University of Paris, which assessed 209 first-level sub-national governments across the 15 ECOWAS member states.
According to the report, Kano recorded an overall Sub-National Weighted Aggregate Education Spending Index (S-WAESI) score of 87.21, placing it ahead of all other states, regions and districts evaluated across West Africa. The ranking also placed Dakar and Saint-Louis in Senegal behind Kano, while Lagos emerged as the second-highest ranked Nigerian state, occupying the 16th position overall.
The report attributed Kano’s performance to its strong commitment to education financing, effective budget implementation and sustained investment in expanding access to quality education.
The ranking follows the state government’s declaration of a state of emergency on education, a policy that has driven increased budgetary allocations, rehabilitation and construction of schools, recruitment of teachers, provision of learning materials and expansion of educational opportunities across the state.
