Unequal Access: How AI is transforming private schools, while public fall behind

Technology has been the driving force behind education transformation for decades, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly emerging as one of its most powerful agents of change. Across the world, AI is making learning more personalised, easing teachers’ workload, and bridging knowledge gaps. In Nigeria, AI is starting to make its way into classrooms, though […]

Technology has been the driving force behind education transformation for decades, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly emerging as one of its most powerful agents of change. Across the world, AI is making learning more personalised, easing teachers’ workload, and bridging knowledge gaps. In Nigeria, AI is starting to make its way into classrooms, though its adoption is extremely patchy. While the potential is enormous, the execution is uneven, and in cities such as Kano, government action needs to be fair to make sure AI does not leave anyone behind.

In 2024, the Kano State Government declared a state of emergency on education as a reaction to decades of underfunding and neglect. It has subsequently undertaken several initiatives to enhance primary and secondary school infrastructure. But as AI starts to seep into schools, public institutions are still lagging behind.

The Kano State Development Plan III (2021–2025) identifies education and human capital building as one of the drivers of sustainable development. The state has over half of its population under 15 years of age, and the mean years of schooling are a low 3.9 years.

There is a pressing need to transform learning outcomes. While the Plan envisions a knowledge-based economy driven by innovation, the adoption of AI remains heavily concentrated in private schools. As of July 2025, according to the latest statistics from the Kano State Private and Voluntary Institutions Board (KSPVIB), 3,726 private and voluntary schools are registered in the state of Kano.

About 42% of them are at the secondary level, which amounts to about 1,565 private and voluntary secondary schools. This indicates the government’s effort to document, track, the quality of education under the KSPVIB program to enhance and supervise private education.

The Emergence of AI within Private Classrooms

Learning in a contemporary private secondary schools in Kano city has become futuristic. Students are interacting with learning systems driven by AI on desktop computers, all tools that are meant to adapt to their specific pace of learning. AI becomes part of the teaching and learning within some of the most technologically advanced schools in Kano.
Abu Bilal Academy, Kano Municipal Local Government is among the schools adopting AI tools.

Aminu Umar Adam, an English and Literature instructor at the academy, attests to the fact that AI is now part of the norm in his classroom. “I’m using AI, ChatGPT and others. It is important because it makes work easier. It helps to shorten and make work precise,” he declares. “But the problem with AI is that it makes humans lazy.”

 

He also laments the inequality he witnessed: “There was once when I went to a public school, some teachers[were] unaware of artificial intelligence (AI). Humans don’t know the significance of that technology. The government should make the teachers aware of that and start applying that in public schools.”

In Gwale Local Government’s Hybrid International School, AI technologies are also becoming a part of the everyday learning process. Muhammad Raji, who teaches geography and civic education, says, “I am using AI, which is ChatGPT. It assists me in searching information and summarising it if necessary. As a teacher, it also assists me to work effectively and creatively.”
Even the students at the school have their voices heard. “My name is Ma’asuma Ibrahim, and I am in SS2. I am utilising AI, most notably ChatGPT, as I am familiar with it. I use it to learn my subjects whenever I am having trouble with them,” she says.

Another student, Mahmud Muttaka Najib, in SS1, adds, “I am using AI primarily from social media such as WhatsApp AI [Meta AI]. It assists in getting assignments done and ending other social issues. I have access to it via phones and computers, primarily in our computer lab. I provide it with Mathematics problems at times and it solves them for me, thus AI makes work easier.”
Mustapha Isah, a student in SS2, continues, “I’m utilising artificial intelligence, in this instance, ChatGPT, for doing homework and reading. I use it to interpret the homework as well as provide me with the answers. I only utilize it at home because in school, I will not be able to access the computer laboratory because I’m an arts student, they only reserve it for students in science.”
“AI reduces my workload. It tracks practice tests, gives feedback, and even recommends further study materials.”

The Public Schools Reality

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, over 60% of northern Nigerian public schools have no access to basic electricity, much less the internet. Installing AI software, subscription plans, internet, and training is considered too expensive, leaving AI outside the reach of even the best-resourced public schools.
Kano State Senior Secondary School Management Board (KSSSMB) oversees 826 senior secondary schools in the state. The schools lack infrastructure, teachers, and an internet connection to roll out AI in the majority of them due to initiatives at the state level.
In Tsakuwa village, which is about 77 kilometers from Kano City in Dawakin Kudu Local Government Area,- AI is a mirage. The village, with more than 23,000 inhabitants, most of them farmers and traders, struggles with serious shortages of teachers and work out of old, crumbling buildings.
In Government Girls’ Secondary School Tsakuwa, nearly 800 students are taught by just eight teachers employed by the government. Most classes lack any furniture whatsoever, and students have to sit on the ground, with proper toilet facilities hardly even coming close. Electricity or internet connectivity is unheard of, making the idea of integrating AI or any form of digital technology an outright impossibility.

The community, angered by the absence of urgent action from the government, initiated the Tsakuwa Mufarka Programme.
The programme has 20 volunteer teachers and a security man who receives ₦10,000 monthly from contributions by the community.
“Our community will not wait for the government,” Wagari states. “Education is paramount and we took it upon ourselves to see to it that our children are not left behind.”
Students in Baita village, Gezawa Local Government Area, approximately 46.4 kilometers from Kano City, are experiencing the same or even more challenging issues. With the policies of the government and financial allocations, Baita primary school is struggling to operate. Its building has cracked walls and a leaky roof, and three instructors are teaching six packed classrooms.
The village head, Baita Abdullahi, describes the situation as gloomy. “How can three teachers cater to the needs of an entire school? The government neglected us. Our school requires refurbishment, and we require better-trained teachers,” he said.

There is even no infrastructure in the classrooms. There is no functioning computer lab, no library, and no science lab. The majority of students have to sit on the floor because there are no chairs or desks. Basic things like chalkboards and textbooks are in short supply.

Baita village and its neighbouring communities do not have any secondary schools, only this primary school, and this is its condition (Image of Baita school)

Fatima Musa, a JSS2 pupil, says, “We lack adequate classrooms. Sometimes classes are put together, and we cannot focus. I have never even laid my eyes on a computer here. I only see them on TV.”
Another of the students, Idris Hassan, in JSS3, joins in: “We don’t have a science lab. Our teacher just teaches with words, no experiment. I know nothing about AI or computers. We need seats, textbooks, and teachers first.”
One of the teachers in the school, Malam Sulaiman, said, “We are trying our best, but we are swamped. We learn about digital [tools] like AI from the media, but we never receive training and definitely no facilities here. First is to get basic infrastructure right.”
He highlights that the children need increased support: “We need more toilets, classrooms, blackboards, and improved teachers. Technology is not even in our minds when our students are still learning by squatting on the ground.”
In Rimin Gado Local Government Area, Jili village, some 27 kilometers away from Kano City, it is worse. Subsistence agriculture and petty trade are the primary sources of sustenance for most of the households. Though the government has started strategic education policies, their enforcement in Jili has been sluggish and mostly unfruitful.
At Government Girls’ Junior Secondary School Jili, students study in borrowed primary school classrooms. They perch on the ground because there are no chairs, and they have no possibility of making use of a science lab, computer room, or library. The lack of toilets and far distance from home discourage many from attending school frequently.
One of the students, Hauwa’u Alkasim, contributed more, “The greatest challenge we are facing right now is that we don’t have our own secondary school building; we are moving around from the primary school classrooms. We don’t have books, blackboards, and others.”
Another student, Maimuna Isah, stated: “We have no teachers, particularly for science. Some of us don’t even know anything about AI or computers. We just walk miles and try to learn what little we can get.”
A student, Salisu Ahmed, in JSS3, stated: “We know of AI, but I don’t even know what it is or how it works. I never see a computer at school.”
One Jili teacher who preferred to remain anonymous stated, “I’ve heard of the AI and how it can be used to help with teaching, but we don’t have infrastructure here. Most of the teachers would need proper training and infrastructure just to start using these kinds of tools.”
In spite of policy interventions such as the Free and Compulsory Education Policy and strategic initiatives, rural areas like Jili, Baita and Tsakuwa remain un-serviced. Problems of implementation and poor infrastructure have rendered these schools invisible to the state’s vision of digital learning.
“The Ministry of Education is developing a new policy with the aim of having the public schools not lag behind but become models of online education in the future,” a ministerial education policy analyst said.
Systemic Barriers and Lost Opportunities
Within Kano’s emerging EdTech environment, entrepreneurs are realising the untapped potential of Artificial Intelligence to revolutionise learning experiences.
Abubakar Sulaiman, a digital entrepreneur in Kano, regards AI as a viable solution to many of Nigeria’s most vexing issues within the education system.
“Nigeria’s classes are normally packed with minimal equipment to adopt unique ways of meeting learning styles,” he clarifies.
“AI platforms can read through the strengths and weaknesses of students to provide individualised classes for core subjects like Math, English or Sciences.”
Sulaiman also believes AI plays a significant role in assisting the nation to overcome its perennial shortage of teachers.
“In some areas, the pupil-to-teacher ratio is more than 100:1,” he notes.
“Virtual tutors like automated home assistants in local languages like Hausa and automated marking algorithms can release teachers to be where they should be, with their pupils.”
He goes on to highlight inclusive design: “Offline capable AI tools are essential for rural schools with poor internet connectivity.”
While his company is now targeting young professionals with tools to harness AI to develop business, Sulaiman is confident about its eventual application in schools.
“Even though we do not presently specialise in AI student tools, we are aware of the possibility of AI to transform learning,” he goes on.
Government Plans and Operational Commitments
Kano’s Education Sector 2019 and 2022 Strategic and Implementation Plans were formulated to inform successful service delivery.
The 2023 Annual Operational Plan (AOP) was structured with a view to converting top-level policy into tangible and accountable action. The AOP distills strategic objectives into clear outputs, activities, responsibility, cost, and timelines.
The policy places highest priority on the development of infrastructure, increased provision of high-quality education, and elimination of gender gaps learning potential in line with AI, but so far still largely aspirational for state schools.
Commissioner of Education Ali Haruna Makoda confirmed the status of the current administration. “We have just supplied over 1,500 computers to some of the secondary schools in the state,” he says.
“The schools also enjoy access to the internet so that students can learn skills and access materials, including Artificial Intelligence applications.”
Makoda further proposed that the ministry is also donating schools where computers were given solar power systems.

“We’d like to be able to ensure that these children are able to utilize the devices. Stable power and internet are necessary if we’re to have AI functioning in our classrooms,” he added.
He also revealed that education had been allocated 31% of the state’s 2025 budget, an unprecedented figure.
“This indicates the seriousness of the state government towards reshaping education in Kano,” Makoda added.
Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf has also reiterated the government’s determination to revive education in the state.
Speaking recently to the State Assembly, he stated: “We have laid before them six draft policies, which include the Kano Education Law, 2024, and the Kano Teacher Development Policy. The policies will solve the problems in education and make students in Kano succeed.”
In the future, he explained that there is much more in the pipeline: “More computers and AI software will be incorporated into schools for teachers. We have also partnered with AGILE, UNICEF, MTN and other organisations to train and assist education, particularly in the field of information technology.”
Bridging the Divide
Analysts like Abel Aboh are calling for urgent action to inject AI into Nigerian secondary schools, and the call is becoming louder. In an attempt to empower future generations to not only use technology but also grow with it, digital skills and AI must be introduced at a very early stage, he added.
Besides this, there are other issues that entail the reality that the majority of schools have no computers, internet, or professional teachers. AI, however, has the potential to be a game-changer so far as leveling the playing field goes by offering homogenous, higher-quality resources irrespective of where one is located.
The way things stand now, Kano’s education system is on the verge of being two worlds: one where the students are getting access to the future, and the other where the students are fighting to retain the present.

This report was produced with support from the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) and Luminate.