Claims circulating on social media that a “University of Paris” ranked Kano State as the highest-spending sub-national government on education in West Africa have been found to be false following independent fact-checks.
The viral claim alleged that Kano topped a 2026 education spending index purportedly released by a “University of Paris.” However, investigations found no credible evidence that such a ranking or report exists.
Checks of the official websites and publications of leading Paris-based institutions, including Sorbonne University and Université Paris Cité, revealed no report, press release or academic publication ranking Kano State as the region’s highest education spender.
Further inquiries found no academic paper or official communication from any Paris-based university assessing or ranking Kano State’s education expenditure against other governments in West Africa.
Instead, reviews of recent 2026 academic rankings highlighted achievements by institutions such as Bayero University Kano, which featured among leading universities in West Africa, rather than any ranking of state government education spending.
Education expert Hassan Usman said comparative assessments of government expenditure are typically conducted by international bodies such as UNESCO, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
He noted that university rankings produced by French and other international academic institutions generally assess academic performance, research output and institutional reputation, not government spending.
Usman urged journalists and the public to verify information through credible and authoritative sources before sharing it to curb the spread of misinformation.
Additional checks of recent UNESCO publications, including the Global Education Monitoring Report and data from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, also found no ranking identifying Kano State or any Nigerian state as West Africa’s highest spender on education.
The incident has renewed concerns over the growing spread of unverified claims on social media, with media experts reiterating the need for rigorous fact-checking and responsible journalism, particularly on issues relating to governance, education and public policy.
