Borno is the historical seat of Northern Nigerian formal Western education — Lord Lugard's first Northern government school, the 1922 Kanuri Teachers' College (today Government College Maiduguri), and the 1975 University of Maiduguri. Boko Haram has, since 2009, destroyed a generation of that infrastructure.
Pre-colonial & mission schools (pre-1900 — 1948)#
- Centuries of Qur'anic and *ilm* tradition under the Saifawa and Shehu dynasties; Birni Ngazargamu was a Sahelian learning centre before 1808.
- Kanuri Teachers' College, Maiduguri (1922) — the first Northern government secondary school; alma mater of much of the early Northern civil service. Later Government College Maiduguri.
Era stats (where available)#
- Literacy rate (NBS / NDHS): Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- Out-of-school children (UBEC / UNICEF): Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- Tertiary enrolment: Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- WAEC / NECO / JAMB rankings: Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- Education budget (state appropriation): Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- Minister / Commissioner of Education in office: Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- Provost / Rector / Vice-Chancellor of era institutions: Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- Notable research / achievement: Not available in this research pass — TBC.
1948 — 1959: Asquith Commission & first universities#
- Borno sons travelled to the Nigerian College, Zaria (1952) and ABU (1962).
Era stats (where available)#
- Literacy rate (NBS / NDHS): Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- Out-of-school children (UBEC / UNICEF): Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- Tertiary enrolment: Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- WAEC / NECO / JAMB rankings: Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- Education budget (state appropriation): Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- Minister / Commissioner of Education in office: Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- Provost / Rector / Vice-Chancellor of era institutions: Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- Notable research / achievement: Not available in this research pass — TBC.
1955 — 1976: Northern Region education → 1976 Federal UPE#
- Borno Native Authority schools at Maiduguri, Bama, Dikwa, Monguno, Geidam.
Era stats (where available)#
- Literacy rate (NBS / NDHS): Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- Out-of-school children (UBEC / UNICEF): Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- Tertiary enrolment: Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- WAEC / NECO / JAMB rankings: Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- Education budget (state appropriation): Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- Minister / Commissioner of Education in office: Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- Provost / Rector / Vice-Chancellor of era institutions: Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- Notable research / achievement: Not available in this research pass — TBC.
1977 — present: State universities, polytechnics, colleges of education#
- University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) — federal, est. 1975. Faculties of Veterinary Medicine, Medicine, Law, Engineering.
- Borno State University, Maiduguri — state, 2016 (recreated after the 1975 absorption).
- Ramat Polytechnic, Maiduguri — state, 1976 (named for Murtala Ramat Mohammed).
- Mohamet Lawan College of Education, Maiduguri — state.
- Kashim Ibrahim College of Education, Maiduguri — state.
- College of Nursing & Midwifery, Maiduguri — state monotechnic.
Era stats (where available)#
- Literacy rate (NBS / NDHS): Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- Out-of-school children (UBEC / UNICEF): Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- Tertiary enrolment: Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- WAEC / NECO / JAMB rankings: Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- Education budget (state appropriation): Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- Minister / Commissioner of Education in office: Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- Provost / Rector / Vice-Chancellor of era institutions: Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- Notable research / achievement: UNIMAID — National Centre for Arid Zone Studies; pioneering veterinary virology (lumpy-skin disease, peste-des-petits-ruminants vaccines).
1999 — present: Universal Basic Education era#
- Boko Haram destroyed at least 1,500 schools in Borno between 2009 and 2017 (Amnesty International / UNICEF). The 14 April 2014 Chibok abduction of 276 girls from Government Girls Secondary School Chibok is the defining moment of the era — see Bring Back Our Girls.Northern Abandonment Cycle
Era stats (where available)#
- Literacy rate (NBS / NDHS): Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- Out-of-school children (UBEC / UNICEF): Borno consistently has the highest out-of-school-children rate in Nigeria — UNICEF 2022 estimated >70% in conflict-affected LGAs (Bama, Gwoza, Damboa, Marte, Abadam).
- Tertiary enrolment: Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- WAEC / NECO / JAMB rankings: Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- Education budget (state appropriation): Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- Minister / Commissioner of Education in office: Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- Provost / Rector / Vice-Chancellor of era institutions: Not available in this research pass — TBC.
- Notable research / achievement: Conflict-resilient school construction — IDP-camp learning centres run by UNICEF, NEEDS, and Borno SUBEB.
Sources & further reading#
- NUC accreditation registers; NBTE polytechnic registers; NCCE colleges-of-education list.
- Fafunwa, *History of Education in Nigeria* (1974, rev. 2004).
- UBEC & NPC annual reports; UNICEF/NDHS state-level data.
- State Ministry of Education gazettes; JAMB Brochure (annual).