Nasarawa Governor Abdullahi Sule commissioned some projects, as Zulum detailed how enrolment has since climbed past 1.8 million learners.
Babagana Zulum, Governor of Borno State, says more than 5,000 school structures were destroyed as a result of the ongoing insurgency in the state, leaving an estimated 2.2 million children out of school at the crisis’s peak.
Zulum made the disclosure on Sunday in Maiduguri, the state capital, during the commissioning of several completed education and road infrastructure projects, performed by Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State.
The scale of the insurgency’s damage
“The insurgency destroyed more than 5,000 school structures, while at its peak, an estimated 2.2 million children were out of school, with fewer than 500,000 enrolled,” Zulum said.
He said the destruction of school infrastructure, combined with the loss of teachers and school administrators who continued serving communities despite the security threat, severely disrupted education across the state.
“Many teachers and school administrators lost their lives in the course of duty,” he said.
What was commissioned on Sunday
Zulum said four projects were formally commissioned during the event: the Larawaram Community Senior Secondary School; the Shehu Sanda Kyarimi I Primary and Junior Secondary School; the Post Office nine-span flyover; and the dualisation of a 2.5-kilometre road, alongside five kilometres of drainage, from Budum Tandari Junction to Kasuwan Shanu.
He said rebuilding schools involves more than physical reconstruction. “Rebuilding schools is beyond constructing physical structures. It is about restoring access to education, rebuilding confidence in our communities and providing our children with the opportunity to secure a better future,” Zulum said.
How much the state has invested in education
Zulum disclosed that his administration invested N46,987,069,675.33 in basic and secondary education between the 2025 and 2026 fiscal years alone.
“Today’s commissioning forms part of this broader investment, alongside 136 projects that have been completed and are awaiting commissioning,” he said.
He said the administration had continued expanding and improving school infrastructure at the public pre-primary and primary levels, with the number of usable classrooms rising to 5,792 and usable Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities increasing to 4,563.
At the senior secondary level, Zulum said the number of functional schools grew from 34 across eight local government areas in 2019 to 129 across 25 local government areas by 2026.
Enrolment figures show a sharp rebound
According to Zulum, enrolment rose from 766,551 learners in 2019 to 1,801,295 in 2026, an increase of more than one million learners within seven years.
He attributed the growth to expanded access, improved public confidence in the school system, and sustained government investment in education infrastructure across the state.
The event forms part of a broader series of project commissionings across Borno’s local government areas, as the state government continues efforts to rebuild education, health and other social infrastructure damaged during more than a decade of insurgency, which has also left over 110,000 widows and orphans in internally displaced persons camps across Maiduguri and Damboa, according to earlier disclosures by the governor.
