Kano Govt To Reform Almajiri Education System For Sustainability

Dr Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State has said that his administration is set to reform the almajiri system of education to ensure sustainability.

The governor made this known at a virtual meeting, hosted by the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday.

He said that the state government conducted a census and identified three categories of almajiris, namely: indigenes, non-indigenes and the unidentified.

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According to Ganduje, “We have placed all the three categories into their respective positions and we are planning to sustain that accordingly, with an integrated curriculum.”

He explained that the state had deployed the indigenous almajiris back to their parents and returned the non-indigenes to their home states, while dormitories would be set for the unidentified almajiris.

The governor stressed the need for the involvement of development partners and the Federal Government to the new scheme.

In his remarks, Mr Peter Hawkings, the Country Representative of UNICEF in Nigeria, expressed concern over the state of the children in Qur’anic education.

According to him, there is the need for government to strengthen the child’s protection policy in the education system.

Hawkings further stressed the importance of enhancing social protection environment by reducing poverty level.

An Islamic educationist, Dr Bashir Aliyu, while speaking at the meeting, reflected on the development of Qur’anic education in many parts of the world.

He noted that the system was organised at the early stage, stressing, howver, that it was hit by many challenges as it developed.

”It is not enough for the government to only concentrate on integrating the almajiri system, but to solve the economic challenges associated with it,” Aliyu said.

He said that the government needed to provide regulations on the endowment, which, according to him, should be community-driven.

Our reporter reports that state government, in collaboration with Almajiri Child Rights Initiative and the UNICEF, hosted a webinar on Tuesday, to discuss the future of the almajiri child in the state.