SUBEB · BASIC EDUCATION
State Universal Basic Education Board
The largest estate in the State: 3,200 basic schools, 2,180,000 pupils from Primary 1 to JSS 3, and 41,600 teachers, working through a local government education authority in each of the 44 areas.
What the Board is responsible for
Free, compulsory basic education across 44 local government areas: teacher deployment and payroll to the LGEAs, capitation grants to schools, textbook and furniture supply, classroom construction under the UBEC matching-grant window, and the quality assurance of every public basic school in the State.
SUBEB was established in 2005 under the Kano State Universal Basic Education Board Law, following the federal Compulsory, Free Universal Basic Education Act of 2004. Its estate is basic education in the whole meaning of the phrase: one year of pre-primary attached to a primary school, six years of primary, and three years of junior secondary. Nine years, free and compulsory, for every child of school age in Kano State.
The Board does not decide policy, and it does not approve schools; those are the Ministry's. What it does is run the system day to day — pay and post the teachers, release the capitation grant, get textbooks, exercise books and furniture into classrooms, draw down the federal matching grant with the State's counterpart contribution, and hold each of the 44 local government education authorities to account for the schools in its area.
SUBEB at a glance
3,200
Basic schools
Pre-primary, primary and junior secondary
2.18m
Pupils enrolled
2025/2026 session
41,600
Teachers
Deployed through the 44 education authorities
2005
Established
Under the Kano State UBEB Law
How SUBEB is organised
Four tiers between the Board and the classroom. Matters are settled at the lowest tier that can settle them.
Board Headquarters, Zaria Road, Kano
Sets the establishment for every school, releases grants, holds the payroll and reports to the Ministry. The Executive Chairman and three Permanent Members sit here.
6 Zonal Education Offices
Kano Central, Kano North, Kano South, Gaya, Rano and Wudil. The zones supervise the education authorities, hold the whole-school evaluation teams and consolidate the census returns.
44 Local Government Education Authorities
One in every local government area, each headed by an Education Secretary. They pay and supervise teachers, distribute grants and materials, and are the first office a parent or head teacher should approach.
Schools
Roughly 3,200 of them, each with a head teacher accountable for the register, the money held in the school and the safety of every pupil in it.
What SUBEB actually delivers
The Board's recurring commitments to schools, and the office to raise each one with.
| What | Who receives it | How often | Raise it with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capitation grant | Every public basic school, at a rate per enrolled pupil taken from the census | Twice a year, first tranche in the sixth week of the first term | The local government education authority for the area |
| Teacher deployment and payroll | Teachers in public basic schools, posted against an approved school establishment | Postings each term; salary monthly | The Education Secretary, then the zonal education office |
| UBEC matching grant projects | Schools identified in the annual action plan, from federal funds matched naira for naira by the State | Annually, on the approved action plan | The local government education authority, which submits the need |
| Textbook and exercise book supply | Every pupil in a public basic school, in the core subjects | At the start of the first term | The head teacher, then the education authority |
| Furniture supply | Schools below the pupil-to-seat standard, on census evidence | On the annual furniture programme | The local government education authority |
| Classroom construction and renovation | Schools with unusable or insufficient classrooms | On the capital programme, delivered by the Education Development Support Board | The education authority, into the project pipeline |
| Quality assurance visits | Every public basic school | At least once each session; more often after an improvement notice | The zonal education office |
| Special needs and inclusive support | Twelve special schools and 168 inclusive units in mainstream primary schools | Continuous, with assistive equipment on request | The Ministry, Directorate of Special & Inclusive Education |
What "free and compulsory" means in a Kano classroom
Free means that nothing may be charged. Not tuition, not a parent-teacher association levy, not an examination fee, not a uniform, lesson or "development" charge. A public basic school that collects money from parents is acting unlawfully, and the head teacher is answerable for it.
Compulsory means that the duty runs the other way too. Under section 2 of the Compulsory, Free Universal Basic Education Act 2004, a parent must ensure that a child of school age completes the full nine years. The education authority visits first, and prosecution is a last step, but the duty is a legal one.
- No tuition, levy or examination fee from Primary 1 to JSS 3
- Textbooks and exercise books in the core subjects, supplied by the State
- The Basic Education Certificate Examination entry fee paid by the State
- A hot meal each school day in Primary 1 to Primary 3 under the feeding programme
- Free uniform issue in the first fortnight of the first term
- A place in a school within the pupil's own ward wherever one exists
Who leads SUBEB
The executive head answers to the Honourable Commissioner for Education through the Permanent Secretary. Formal correspondence should name the school and the local government area concerned.
Dr. Aminu Ibrahim Danbatta
Executive Chairman, State Universal Basic Education Board
Ph.D (Educational Administration)
Came to the Board in 2021 after eight years as a zonal education director in Kano North. He chairs the establishment committee that fixes how many teachers each of the 3,200 basic schools is entitled to.
subeb@moe.kn.gov.ngHajiya Fatima Sani Gwarzo
Permanent Member (Schools Services)
M.Ed (Primary Education)
Responsible for schools services: the capitation release, textbook and furniture distribution, and the performance of the 44 education authorities. She began her career as a primary school head teacher in Gwarzo.
Questions parents and head teachers ask SUBEB
My child's school is asking for a levy. What do I do?
How do I enrol a child in Primary 1?
The school has too few teachers. Who fixes that?
What is the capitation grant and can we see how it was spent?
My child sits BECE this year. What does the family pay?
Does SUBEB manage private or Islamiyyah schools?
Where to find SUBEB
Take the school name and school code with you. Most matters are settled faster at the local government education authority than at the Board headquarters.
- Headquarters: SUBEB Headquarters, Zaria Road, Kano Municipal
- Telephone: +234 803 700 1431
- Email: subeb@moe.kn.gov.ng
- Counter hours: Monday to Friday, 8:00 to 16:00
- First point of contact: the local government education authority for your area — the directory of all 44 is at /offices
- Zonal offices: Kano Central, Kano North, Kano South, Gaya, Rano and Wudil
Basic education is an entitlement, not a favour
If a child of school age in Kano State is out of school, or is being charged in a public basic school, tell us and it will be dealt with.