Kano State has been ranked the highest spending sub national government on education among 209 first level sub national governments across the Economic Community of West African States, according to the 2026 Sub National Education Spending Index released by the University of Paris.

The report placed Kano first overall with a Sub National Weighted Aggregate Education Spending Index score of 87.21%, ahead of Dakar and Saint Louis in Senegal, while Lagos followed as the second highest ranked Nigerian State, placing 16th overall.

Governments were assessed using indicators including actual education expenditure, spending per student, budget execution, education priority, transparency and evidence based reporting, with 35% of the index allocated to actual education spending, 25% to spending per student, 20% to budget execution, and 10% each to education priority and transparency.

The report attributed Kano's strong performance to its high education expenditure and effective budget implementation, describing the State as the best performing sub national government in the region.

Governments across Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Togo, Guinea, Guinea Bissau and Cabo Verde were covered in the assessment, spanning states, regions, districts and municipalities.

The ranking comes after Kano State Government declared a state of emergency on education, a move that prioritised increased funding to tackle years of infrastructural decay and expand access to quality education.

Since the declaration, the State Government has invested in constructing and rehabilitating schools, recruiting teachers, providing learning materials and expanding educational opportunities across Kano.

The Kano State Accountability Forum on Education described the recognition as evidence of the Government's commitment to improving school infrastructure, educational planning and budget implementation.

Governor Abba Yusuf had allocated 29.5% of the State's 2024 budget and 30% of its 2025 budget to education, among the highest sectoral allocations recorded in Nigeria. The Government also developed a comprehensive education recovery plan in collaboration with international development partners to strengthen learning outcomes and human capital development.