By Caleb Jacob
The Kano State Government has announced the closure of six private schools for alleged breaches of regulations, including arbitrary fee hikes and failure to provide parents with approved book lists.
Executive Secretary of the Private and Voluntary Institutions Board, Baba Abubakar Umar, disclosed this while briefing journalists in Kano on Thursday.
Umar said the affected schools include Prime College (Alu Avenue), Darul Ulum (Hotoro), Gwani Dan Zarga College (Kofar Waika), Auwa Academy (Sumaila), Dano Memorial College (Gani, Sumaila), and Unity Academy (Wudil).
He explained that court orders had been secured to enforce the closures, stressing that the move was not to witch-hunt operators but to ensure compliance with state laws.
“It’s not our wish and aspiration to go to court but whoever thinks he’s above the law, will take that person to court. This is our stand,” He asserted.
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The government had prohibited private and voluntary schools from arbitrarily increasing tuition fees, warning that no institution will be allowed to make adjustments without formal approval.
Umar, on 11 September 2025, released new guidelines requiring schools to convene Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) meetings before proposing a fee hike.
He said such meetings must include parents, teachers, and government representatives, with decisions approved by a two-thirds majority and cleared by the state board before implementation.
On Thursday, the ES also pointed that two other schools—Nur Islam and As-Saif College—are also facing legal action.
According to him “We have not obtained court order but I assure you by today (Thursday) or tomorrow (Friday) the order will be granted because we will not allow school owners to be acting on their own.”
Out of over 7,000 schools operating in the state, Umar revealed that fewer than 2,000 currently hold valid operational certificates.
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He urged proprietors without certification to regularise their status in line with the 2014 law guiding private schools in Kano.
According to him, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s administration has allocated nearly 30% of the state’s budget to education, making compliance essential to guarantee quality teaching, conducive learning environments, and accountability.
“What we want to achieve is to ensure compliance, collect data for educational purpose,” stressed Umar.
He assured that the Board will remain fair to both parents and school owners but warned that defiance of regulations would not be tolerated.
Parents were also urged to promptly pay their fees to ensure smooth running of the schools.