Borno State has recorded its highest-ever school enrolment, with a total of 1,801,295 learners captured in the newly presented 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 Annual School Census (ASC) Report.
The Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Engr. Lawan Abba Wakilbe, unveiled the report on Friday at the Ministry of Education Work Hub, Musa Usman Secretariat, Maiduguri.
According to the report obtained by The News Chronicle, the figure represents an increase of more than one million learners over the past nine years, rising from 766,551 pupils in the 2017/2018 academic year to the current 1,801,295.
Wakilbe described the development as evidence of renewed confidence in the state’s education system and sustained investment in rebuilding and expanding schools across Borno.
“When you look at where we started, 766,551 learners in 2017/2018, and see where we are today, this is not just a number; it is evidence that parents and communities once again trust our schools with their children’s future,” he said.
The Commissioner attributed the steady growth in enrolment to increased public confidence in education, improved access to schools and the state government’s continued investment in the sector.
He commended Governor Babagana Umara Zulum for his commitment to education and also praised the Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, for advancing the national education data agenda through initiatives including the Digital National Education Management Information System (DNEMIS).
Teaching Workforce Increases
Wakilbe said the increase in enrolment has been accompanied by a corresponding rise in the number of teachers across primary, junior secondary and senior secondary schools.
According to him, the teaching workforce increased from 15,563 in 2024/2025 to 17,565 in 2025/2026.
At the senior secondary level, teacher numbers rose from 2,314 to 2,998, with the figure projected to reach 3,998 by 2027 following the recruitment of an additional 1,000 senior secondary school teachers in August 2026.
Including facilitators supporting Sangaya and mass literacy programmes, Borno’s combined teaching workforce is now estimated at 19,316.
“We cannot talk about access without talking about the people who stand in front of the classroom every day,” Wakilbe said.
“That is why, alongside rising enrolment, we have deliberately grown our teaching workforce because more pupils must mean more qualified teachers, not more overcrowded classrooms.”
Public Secondary Schools Expand
The census also showed significant expansion in the state’s public secondary school system.
The number of functional public secondary schools increased from 34 in 2021 to 129 in 2026, while Borno achieved 100 per cent reporting coverage across pre-primary/primary, junior secondary, senior secondary, science and technical schools during the latest census cycle.
The Commissioner said the state was also working to formally integrate Sangaya education into the wider education system.
He highlighted the establishment of the Arabic and Sangaya Education Board, development of High Islamic Colleges, and ongoing registration and verification of Sangaya centres, facilitators, enumerators and Islamiyya schools.
Sangaya Learners Exceed 498,000
The DNEMIS currently has 127,652 verified Sangaya learners on its records. However, an ongoing verification exercise by the Sangaya Board has so far identified 498,295 learners across 5,335 centres.
The Sangaya Board and the State Agency for Mass Literacy currently deploy 1,751 facilitators to support the learning centres.
The Commissioner commended the enumerators, head teachers, Local Government Education Authorities and EMIS personnel who participated in the census exercise.
The presentation was attended by senior officials from the education sector, including the Executive Chairman of SUBEB, Prof. Bulama Kagu; Executive Chairman of BSSEB, Prof. Yusufu Gana Balami; Executive Secretary of the Arabic and Sangaya Education Board, Dr Abdulkadir Abdulkarim; Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Hajiya Yakaru Mustapha; and Permanent Secretary of SUBEB, Dr Hyelni Mshelia.
Representatives of UNICEF and donor partners, civil society organisations, the State Universal Basic Education Board, Education Trust Fund and other education agencies were also present at the event.
