Post COVID-19 and renormalizing Almajiri Education

By Dr Murtala Muhammad

Dr Murtala Muhammad, a public commentator teaching at Kano University of Science and Technology, Wudil, argues that the Almajiri system of education has been uncared for more than a century, therefore, made pragmatic and practical recommendations to salvage it.

The media stable is swashed with news of COVID-19 emergency evacuation of the Almajiri children to their states of origin. You must have read or heard that Katsina State had sent 435 Almajiris back to Kano state. You may have come across a report that a returnee Almajiri, Muzammilu Batsari, is full of praise to Katsina State government for seeing to their safe return.

It is also in the news that Kano State government had quarantined over 2,000 Almajiris evacuated from other northern states. Worrisome is the claim made by Governor Nasir El-Rufai that “Almajiri system has to end because it has not worked for northern Nigeria.”

Worthy of note, democracy is expected to provide good governance where the people are at the centre and fairly represented and served. A political system is democratic to the extent that it involves the realization of a responsive and responsible rule.

Various conditions must be met before we can say that it is effectively in place and these include the provision of quality education to all. In this case, affirmative inclusion of the Almajiri in the mainstream educational system must be entrenched and not outrightly abrogated.

The discerning condition of the Almajiri education and the near absence of government in managing the situation, invite unwanted consequences. The enrolment of thousands of young boys in the unplanned scheme has become an item of increasing disquiet especially in northern Nigeria.

This has created mounting concerns about the welfare and wellbeing of the Almajirai children.

Almajiri schools are in dire need of redress. The schools housed millions of what can be referred to as out of school children in an informal educational setting. The children are isolated from their parents at their early lifetime where they are brought into a new environment and most of them lack all the basic needs of life like food, shelter, toilets and basic healthcare.

They are a marginalized and vulnerable group as a result of colonial policies and subsequent governments neglect. They are regarded as “Excluded and Invisible” by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The nomenclature and idiosyncrasy of the Almajiri system of education nowadays is run in clear contradiction to Islamic best practices and the 1989 United Nations Convention on Child Right advancing the quality of life of young ones.

Some of these rights include the right to education, healthcare, love and care, adequate food and shelter and live in a clean environment. Regardless of these rights, in almost every street, corner and junction are young, homeless, poor, neglected and maltreated children seen roaming the street begging for food and alms.

The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provides that ‘every Nigerian child shall have a right to equal educational opportunities irrespective of any real or imagined disabilities; each, according to his or her ability’. The Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme which focuses on the education of the various sections of the less privileged Nigerians, did not quite address the integration of the Almajiri system.

The leaders did not imagine that the neglect of the mass number of the Almajiri population could and would become a threat and phenomenon of national ignominy in the future. In other developing countries in Africa and Asia; this type of school is well taken care of.

Before the advent of colonial occupation in northern Nigeria, Almajiri schools have been considered to be the responsibility of government. The system was recognized as a structured and broad system of education for acquiring Islamic philosophy, theology, values and jurisprudence.

Other areas of scholarship include the Prophet’s life history  (Sirah) and his sayings and practices among others. The students become future teachers and professionals in diverse specialities. The scholarship is hinged on the Islamic perception of migration which is widely practised; especially, when attainment of knowledge at home is inadequate.

The system presented an intricate system of public administration producing judges, clerks, teachers among others in Northern Nigeria. It also offered the colonial administration with the much-needed staff. The Almajiri schools provided the first set of colonial staff in Northern Nigeria and this went on for years.

The Almajiris formed the biggest proportion of the community labour force and made momentous contribution to the economy of the society. In effect, the Almajiri system was a civilizing instrument second to none. This is in stark contrast to the later times when they were eventually neglected.

With the absence of support from the colonial and the native authorities, the Almajiri system was chocked to fizzle out and it refused to bow down to the pressure. The burden of catering for the welfare of the students was then handled by the teachers who deemed it a religious and moral responsibility to educate these pupils.

The teachers had no option but to send their students out on the street and the rest of the community to beg. They also charged them weekly fees for the lessons offered when they got weighed down with the burden of managing them.

In post-colonial Nigeria, with the economic meltdown following structural adjustment agenda and other failed neoliberal economic measures, the Almajiri walk about barefooted in filthy and ragged clothes. He looked sick, with flies pecking his broken lips and dried faces filled with rashes.

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He sleeps in unfinished structures on worn-out mats. Multiple numbers of these students sleep in a single uncomfortable room; in some instances, there are no windows for ventilation. Nigeria’s post-colonial government has not officially acknowledged Almajiri schools as part of the country’s educational scheme, and have not offered to fund for their operations. The fact that the heritage has survived, and continued to prosper regardless of more than a century of neglect from colonialists and post-colonial governments signifies the level of its acceptance among the lower class and therefore the need to review the scheme for better delivery, becomes paramount.

Education in Nigeria is a joint responsibility of the Federal, State and Local governments. The federal government predominantly leads in policy planning and provision of financial support, with the implementation of the education programs being the responsibility of the state governments through the local government education authorities.

The Federal Government should as a matter of necessity and with immediate effect push for the full implementation of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) national education policy initiative known as Almajiri Integrated Model School (AIMS) that was hitherto launched in 2012.

Its main goal was to integrate Quranic schools into conventional schools with modern curriculums in order to provide skill-based education to the Almajiris and empower them with career skills in addition to their religious education. It is a pragmatic move towards the restructuring of the Almajiri system in the country.

Reforming the system is a welcome necessity to cater for the huge population of the abandoned and underfed roaming about the streets to give them a transformed future. The Almajiri Integrated Model School (AIMS) initiative was also intended to increase educational access, specifically for the 13 million “out of school children” by providing classroom facilities, uniforms, books, and feeding programs.

Read Also: Repatriation Of Almajiris: Kano Reaffirms Commitment To Integration Policy(Opens in a new browser tab)

Another goal was to close the regional school enrolment gap between the northern and southern parts of the country; as the southern part of the country has the highest primary, secondary, and tertiary school enrolment and graduation records.

The scheme is also meant to improve their living condition and empower the Almajiris and their teachers. It should be managed by the federal authority through UBEC. This will enable all sections of the country to attain Education for All (EFA) and an aspect of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

State governments, especially those in the north, are expected to support a tripartite arrangement to strengthen the established conventional and Islamiyya schools and make the Almajiri educational system a new normal order.

In August 2019, Kano state government promised to integrate the Almajiri system of education into modern academic curriculum. The government also promised to make basic education free and compulsory to ensure sustainability. The response of the Nigerian government to the Almajiri education should be made drastic in which affirmative action should be declared. There is a need for strong political will on the part of the government. Adequate facilities should be provided so as to improve on the reform scheme.

To successfully run a functional post-COVID-19 Almajiri school scheme as it where before colonisation, it has to be adequately funded and properly monitored. Vocational and technical courses should be incorporated into the school curriculum.

Its long-term objectives should be to create knowledgeable and employable individuals that are graduates of the school.

To give the teachers a sense of direction and to absorb them into a conventional school system. Authorities should organize special training to make them professional teachers. On a final note, neglecting the Almajiri does not only contradict the provision enshrined in the protocols dealing with individual Fundamental Rights. It also denies the exposure of their innate potentials.

Moreover, the ability of these individuals to transform society for the better remains mostly unexploited and this may ultimately jeopardize the country’s search for a viable future.

Murtala Muhammad, PhD could be reached through thisismurtala@yahoo.com