She is an alumnus of Bayero University Kano where she obtained a Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in 1981 and 1987, and the West Virginia University where she obtained the Doctor of Education degree in 1991 where she was also a Graduate Assistantbetween1989and1991. Shebecameafullprofessorin2003;andwasa Chevening Fellow at the University College London in 2006.
Professor Rufa'i has over the years been called upon to serve in various other public capacitiesofwhichshehasconsistentlyexcelled. InherhomeStateofJigawa,she was the Commissioner for Health, from 1997-1999 and Commissioner for Education from 2007 to 2010. Both tenure resulted in rapid development of the two sectors of the state.
Her tenure as Minister is also regarded as the golden period of Nigerian Education because of strides made in accelerating access and quality in all sectors of Nigerian education. Her One-Year Strategy and 4-Year Strategic Plan for the Development of the Education Sector which focused on key areas of Access, Quality, Teacher Education, Funding, Technical and Vocation Education as well as strengthening institutions provided examples on policy continuity and coordinated approach to educational development in Nigeria. These are in addition to initiatives to support developments at the Basic and Secondary Sector such as the Almajiri Education Program mainly in the northern part of the country and the Boys drop out program mostly in the southern part of the country.
It was also during her tenure that the Education Tax Act was amended so that the new Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) now focuses exclusively on the development and rehabilitation of infrastructure and human resources in the Nigerian higher education sector, among others. Similarly, her tenure also saw the admission of Nigeria to the Global Partnership on Education (GPE) which has ultimately led to the grant of $100 million to support the promotion of Basic Education in Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Jigawa and Sokoto States.
Professor Rufa'i chaired the Conference of Education Ministers of the African Union (COMEDAF) from 2012 to 2013. It was a time that the Ministers re-committed themselves to a more vigorous implementation of the Action Plan of the 2nd Decade of the African Union as well as the inclusion of non-formal education as a priority area of the action plan.
Professor Rufa'i has over 30 publications in national and international journals and books. She has received over one hundred prestigious awards, including Officer of the Order of theNiger(OON)oftheFederalRepublicofNigeriain2006. Diverseorganizationsaround the world have also recognized her contributions through several awards. The prominent among them are Dubai Global Excellence Award, Commendation by Howard University, Washington DC, and presentation with the key to the City of Little Rock, Arkansas, USA.