Kaduna: Children Roaming Streets During School Hours Now An Offence — SUBEB

The Kaduna State Government has reiterated its commitment to ensuring that every child of school age in the state has access to basic education before the end of Governor Uba Sani’s administration.

The commitment was reaffirmed on Wednesday by the Executive Chairman of the Kaduna State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Mallam Mubarak Mohammed, during the 2026/2027 School Enrolment Campaign held at Sheikh Abubakar Gumi Market.

Mohammed said the state government regarded education as a fundamental right of every child rather than a privilege or luxury.

He warned that children of school age found roaming the streets during school hours would be regarded as committing an offence.

He said: “Education is a right in Kaduna State under the Governor Uba Sani administration. Basic education is free and it is not a privilege. So, it is an offence for children of school age to roam the streets during school hours.”

The SUBEB chairman expressed concern over the large number of out-of-school children across Northern Nigeria, saying the trend remained a major challenge requiring concerted efforts from government, parents and other stakeholders.

However, he said Kaduna State had recorded significant progress in tackling the problem under the Sani administration.

According to him, the state government has succeeded in returning more than 360,000 children to school, thereby reducing the number of out-of-school children in the state.

“Sani has successfully returned more than 360,000 children back to schools,” Mohammed disclosed.

He added that the intervention had substantially reduced the population of more than 500,000 out-of-school children previously roaming the streets.

Mohammed urged parents and guardians to take advantage of the government’s free basic education programme by ensuring that all children of school age are enrolled and remain in school.