Despite allocating more than ₦40 billion to education, Bauchi State remains among Nigeria’s most educationally disadvantaged states, an expert has revealed.
Hyeladzira James Mshelia, Assistant Director of Programmes and Community Engagement at Connected Development (CODE), made the disclosure at a one-day stakeholder meeting on Roadmap to Equality Tools for Transforming Girls’ Education in Bauchi, organised by CODE with support from the Malala Fund.
Mshelia, who also manages CODE’s Girl-Child Education Project, said the state continues to grapple with alarming challenges, including inadequate infrastructure, low enrolment, high dropout rates, and poor teacher quality.
“Many classrooms are still held under trees. Girls drop out largely due to poverty, early marriage, cultural barriers, and poor learning environments. Out of more than 538,000 children aged 12–14 in Bauchi, nearly half are girls, but many never enroll or complete school. In addition, 25% of teachers are unqualified, and women make up only 31% of the workforce, limiting role models for girls,” she noted.
She further faulted the state’s education policies for being gender-blind, pointing to weak accountability systems and the absence of gender-responsive budgeting. Mshelia added that teacher recruitment policies lack deliberate strategies to boost the number of female teachers, particularly in rural areas.
To address the gaps, she urged government agencies, civil society, development partners, and community leaders to adopt the Gender-Responsive Education Sector Planning (GRESP) model, stressing that inclusive planning is key to reversing the trend.
“With deliberate policies, we can build a system where every child, especially every girl, has the chance to learn, complete school, and thrive,” she said.
However, Bauchi State Commissioner for Education, Dr. Muhammed Lawal, dismissed the concerns as “baseless,” insisting that all education projects were being closely monitored by the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB). He maintained that the government remains committed to repositioning the sector and “taking it to greater heights.”
