Stakeholders in the education sector in Bauchi State converged at the Bauchi State Ministry of Education Headquarters on Wednesday for the Quarterly Education Budget Performance Review Meeting for the fourth quarter of 2025 (Q4 2025).
In his welcome remarks, the Executive Director of Young Leaders Network, YLN, Mr. Seun Justin Onarinde, said the meeting reflected a shared commitment to strengthening the state’s education system, ensuring that every child, especially the most marginalized, has access to quality and inclusive education. Stressing the importance of the meeting, he stated, “Today’s engagement is more than a routine review of figures and budget lines. It is an opportunity to examine a very important relationship: the link between education expenditure and education outcomes.”
In attendance were representatives of the Commissioner of Education and the Permanent Secretary, the Chairman of the House Committee on Education, government officials, development partners, Civil Society Organizations, education administrators, community leaders, and students.
In his presentation on the Ministry of Education’s budget performance for Q4 2025, the Director of Finance and Accounts, Rabi’u Ibrahim Kubiya, admitted that the review ought to have taken place in January, stressing that it was important to review budgets, especially during implementation, to monitor the level of implementation and measure progress achieved. He said, “Personnel cost, which comprises salaries and wages for the entire sector, was 98.10%. Recurrent expenditure, comprising overheads, had a performance of around 98%, which includes other overheads, also called feeding subsidy, specifically applicable to the Ministry of Education and the State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB, for feeding boarding students.”
Kubiya further revealed that the capital expenditure component of the sector’s budget had low performance but insisted that the overall performance was over 70%. He stated that the review meeting availed the Ministry and other stakeholders the opportunity to reflect on the 2025 performance and prepare for 2026.
In his contribution, the Chairman of the House Committee on Education, Hon. Nasir Ahmed Ala, commended YLN for organizing the review meeting, insisting that he and the House were convinced of the role being played by YLN in contributing to the development of the education sector in the state. Ala said, “I will take back to the House what was discussed here today, so that as lawmakers, we continue to provide the needed support for the transformation of the education sector in the state.”
Stakeholders at the meeting were unanimous that while operational spending in education is largely consistent, there is a need for stronger investment in infrastructure and better monitoring to ensure resources reach the communities that need them most and that investment is enough to transform the sector, rather than just maintaining it.
The Quarterly Education Budget Performance Review Meeting is an activity under the Strengthening Advocacy for Girls’ Education, SAGE Project, implemented by Young Leaders Network, YLN, with funding support from the Malala Fund.