Ganduje Constitutes Technical Committee on Remodeling Of Almajiri System Of Education

Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje  has constituted a Technical Committee that would look into the Almajiri system of education to eradicate the situation of children begging and roaming  the street under the guise of attending Qur’anic schools as Almajiris

The new initiative will checkmate the menace of street begging among Almajiris. Because more measures would be put in place to bring forth the dignity and resourcefulness of pupils for the overall development of the state, according to a statement issued by Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Abba Anwar.

The statement said with the recent pronouncement of free and compulsory primary and secondary schools education by the governor, this new development would, among other things, integrate Qur’anic schools with mainstream government-controlled schools where English, Mathematics, Hygiene education, among others would form part of the curriculum for the identified Almajiri schools.

It said the governor constituted the Committee on Sunday, at the Government House in Kano, and in attendance as part of the Committee members were some notable Qur’anic scholars including  Gwani Yahuza Gwani Saleh Dan Zarga, immediate past Executive Chairman of Kano State Qur’anic and Islamiyyah Schools Management Board among others.

It said other members of the committee are from the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Ministry of Education, traditional institutions, Qur’anic teachers of great repute both nationally and internationally, and other critical stakeholders.

The statement said,’’ The committee Chairman, Dr Muhammad Tahar Adam assured the governor of their dedication and commitment in the confidence reposed in them, assuring that ” We will do our best to deliver in accordance with Islam. Both in practice and application.”

The statement noted that the committee’s mandate is to go and have deeper discussions with Alarammomi (Qur’anic teachers who have with them pupils under their tutelage for Qur’anic education) and see how to come up with a more proper and acceptable way, as obtained in other Muslim nations on Qur’anic education.

Ganduje said “They will sit with such Alarammomi and see how we can introduce Western model of education into their curriculum in order to produce children with all types of education to prepare them for good living here on earth and hereafter. They too, need to go with modern time and get all the opportunities other children are getting.”

Though governor Ganduje discloses that, according to statistics with the government, there were many Alarammomi that were not even from Kano, but they bring along with them hundreds of children from other parts of the country, to Kano and settle for Almajiri schools.

That, he said “…does not mean we will not help the life of such Almajiri. That is part of the cosmopolitan nature of our dear state. Since they are in Kano, we just have to educate them also. And they must be incorporated into our free and compulsory education initiative. The committee I am constituting today will come up with the modalities for embarking on this great project.”

“We have statistics with us that many out of school children as given by different surveys, are not from Kano. They come from other states of the federation. Some are brought in from other neighbouring countries, like Niger Republic, Chad and some from Cameroon,” reveals the governor.

He also discloses that the newly constituted committee would, among other things, set up machinery for organising a Workshop that would bring together Qur’anic scholars, experts in Islamic education system.

conventional educationists, traditional rulers, community leaders and other critical stakeholders, to discuss ways, modalities and other technical approaches on how to have a successful take-off of this new initiative. The workshop is proposed for September when schools will be open for another session.