ADMISSION

Admission into a public school

Every child of school age in Kano State is entitled to a place in a public school, and there is no charge for the place or for the application. This page sets out the four ways in, and what to bring.

Who this is for

Any parent or guardian resident in Kano State may apply for a place for a child in a public primary, junior secondary, senior secondary, science or technical school. Basic education, from Primary 1 to JSS 3, is free and compulsory under the Universal Basic Education Act, 2004: a parent commits an offence by keeping a child of basic school age out of school, and a school commits one by charging for the place.

Admission is not first come, first served, and it is not sold. A child enters Primary 1 by age, junior secondary by the Common Entrance placement, senior secondary by the Qualifying Examination, and at any other point by a Placement Test that fixes the right class. Whichever route applies, the application is free, the placement is published, and the school named on the letter must take the child.

A child with a disability applies through the same routes. The Ministry runs schools for learners who are deaf, blind or physically disabled, and inclusive units inside ordinary schools, and the application form asks what support the child needs so that the placement can be made properly rather than reversed later.

The four ways in

Find the row that matches your child. The window is when applications are taken; placement follows within 15 working days of its close.

Entry point	Who it is for	How the place is decided	When to apply
Primary 1	A child who turns six before the session opens	By age and by catchment. No examination and no interview. The nearest school with a place takes the child.	Third term, before the session opens in September
JSS 1	A pupil completing Primary 6	By the Common Entrance Examination, sat in the third week of March, together with the choices made on the form.	Second term, before the Common Entrance
SS 1	A pupil completing JSS 3	By the Qualifying Examination, sat in the first week of July, with the science and technical intake drawn from the top of the list.	Third term, before the Qualifying Examination
Transfer in, any class	A child arriving from another state or country, or returning to school after a period out	By a Placement Test held on demand within ten working days, which fixes the class the child joins.	At any time in the session

What to bring

Upload these with the application, and bring the originals on the day the child reports to the school.

Birth certificate, or a sworn declaration of age where no certificate was issued.
Immunisation card, or a health record from a clinic showing the child's immunisation history.
Two recent passport photographs of the child.
The previous school report or result slip, where the child has been in school before.
The guardian's identification: national identity number slip, voter's card, driver's permit or international passport.
Transfer certificate from the releasing school, where the child is moving from another school.
Evidence of residence in the local government area, such as a utility bill or a letter from the ward head, where a catchment place is being claimed.
A medical or assessment report, where the child needs particular support in class.

How to apply

Create an account and add the child

Sign in at /user/login and add the child's name, date of birth, sex and local government area of origin. One account may carry several children, and the details are reused each time you apply.

Choose the entry point and the schools

Select Primary 1, JSS 1, SS 1 or a transfer. For JSS 1 and SS 1 you list three schools in order of preference. Use the school finder to check what each school offers before you choose.

Upload the documents

Attach the birth certificate or age declaration, the immunisation card, the photographs and any previous report. The form tells you at once if something is missing.

Sit the examination, where one applies

The Common Entrance is sat at a centre named on the slip printed from your account. The Qualifying Examination is sat at the pupil's own school. A Placement Test is booked at the local government education office and held within ten working days.

Receive the placement

Placements are published within 15 working days of the close of the window and appear in your account as a printable admission letter naming the school, the class and the reporting date.

Report to the school

Take the admission letter and the original documents to the school on the reporting date. The head teacher enters the child on the register, issues an admission number of the form 0184/26/0037, and the child begins.

Admission is free. It is never sold.

There is no admission form fee, no registration fee, no development levy and no acceptance fee in a public school in Kano State. A place at Primary 1 through JSS 3 carries no tuition, no uniform charge and no charge for textbooks or exercise books.

If any person asks you for money in connection with an admission, whether at a school gate, an education office or through a person claiming to know an officer, pay nothing. Report it on 0800 MOE KANO or through the feedback form with the name of the school and the date. A school that refuses to admit a child the Ministry has placed is acting outside the Law and the zonal education office will act on a report the same week.

Where a place can lead

Public schooling in Kano runs from a village primary school to a technical college with a workshop. Look at the options before you list your preferences.

Public primary school

Primary 1 to Primary 6

Free and compulsory, in every ward of the State, with a hot meal each school day for pupils in Primary 1 to Primary 3.

Learn more

Junior secondary school

JSS 1 to JSS 3

The upper half of basic education, still free, ending in the Basic Education Certificate Examination.

Learn more

Senior secondary school

SS 1 to SS 3

Science, arts, commercial and technical streams, ending in WASSCE and NECO, with the entry fee paid by the State.

Learn more

Technical college or science school

Selective intake

Trade programmes and the science secondary schools, drawn from the top of the Qualifying Examination list.

Learn more

Special needs school or unit

All levels

Schools for deaf, blind and physically disabled learners, and inclusive units inside ordinary schools.

Learn more

Tsangaya and Islamiyya

Integrated curriculum

Qur'anic study kept intact, with literacy, numeracy, a trade, feeding and health screening added.

Learn more

Questions parents ask

My child has no birth certificate. Can he still be admitted?

Yes. A sworn declaration of age from a magistrate's court, or an attestation from the ward head countersigned at the local government office, is accepted in place of a certificate. No child is turned away for want of a document that can be sworn.

My child is seven and has never been to school. Where does he start?

He sits a Placement Test at the local government education office, which fixes the class he joins. A child who has never been in a classroom will normally begin at Primary 1 whatever his age, and the Agency for Mass Education runs accelerated classes for older children entering late.

We have moved to another local government area. Must my child change school?

Only if you want him to. Where you do, apply for a transfer certificate from the releasing school and a place at the new one. The record moves with the child and the class he was in is preserved.

Can I choose the school?

You list three preferences for JSS 1 and SS 1 and they are honoured where the marks and the places allow. Primary 1 is placed by catchment, so the school is the one nearest to where the child lives. A placement can be reviewed on grounds of distance, disability or the placement of a sibling, on application to the zonal education office.

Is a public senior secondary school free as well?

Tuition is free at every level, and the State pays the WASSCE and SSCE entry fee for every candidate in a public senior secondary school. Senior schools may charge the approved PTA, laboratory, sports and library amounts, and boarding where the pupil boards. The published ceilings are on the fee estimator under Resources.

What if the school says it is full?

A school may not refuse a child the Ministry has placed. If it does, report it to the local government education office or the zonal education office the same day, quoting the admission letter. The Ministry either enforces the placement or issues a place at the next nearest school within five working days.

When do applications open?

Primary 1 applications run through the third term for the session opening in September. JSS 1 applications close before the Common Entrance in March, and SS 1 applications before the Qualifying Examination in the first week of July. The exact dates are on the academic calendar.

Apply for a place

Free to apply, free to attend, and the placement is published rather than negotiated.

Start an application Find a school