Stakeholders have called for reforms in financing and payment systems to address the persistent educational challenges in Northern Nigeria, including the high number of out-of-school children, inadequate learning infrastructure and limited access to quality education.

The call was made at the maiden All Northern Schools Conference (ANSC) 2026 in Kano, organised by Intercontinental Private Schools, Kano, in partnership with TeamMasters Limited, with the theme, “Repositioning Northern Schools for Innovation, Sustainability and Impact.”

In a statement after the event yesterday, the stakeholders said the conference focused on strengthening school leadership, improving teacher capacity and promoting innovation across the education sector.

Speaking at the event, the Executive Director, Commercial and Institutional Banking (Middle, South and East) at The Alternative Bank, Garba Mohammed, said bridging the region’s education gap would require more than policy pronouncements.

Mohammed, who was represented by the Regional Business Executive for Commercial and Institutional Banking (North-West 1), Muhammad Danbichi, said schools must embrace technology and innovative approaches to prepare students for the demands of a rapidly changing world.

According to him, improving educational outcomes requires investments in teacher development, modern learning tools and educational technologies that can enhance literacy and numeracy, particularly at the foundational level.

He said the bank was actively addressing these gaps through practical, early-grade and gender-focused educational initiatives across both public and private schools. He further disclosed that the firm, through its support for the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) in Sokoto State, has reached 21,726 adolescent girls across 10 local council areas.

“AltBank also showcased a suite of solutions designed to serve the education sector,” it added. “Free point-of-sale terminals are being deployed to participating schools to modernise tuition collection and bring payments into the formal digital system.”

He stressed the need for stronger collaboration among governments, financial institutions, school administrators and development partners to tackle longstanding challenges facing the sector

To address some of these challenges, the stakeholders advocated expanded access to educational financing, digital payment systems and targeted interventions aimed at supporting vulnerable groups, particularly girls and children in underserved communities.