UBEC lists executed, ongoing projectsSEVENTEEN months after the Almajiri Education Programme was launched in Gantsa, Jigawa state, it was time for stocktaking in Abuja recently, when the Vice President, Mohammed Sambo hosted state governors, northern emirs and other major stakeholders at the state house's banquet hall, where the participants had the opportunity to seek clarifications and state their concerns over several aspects of the initiative.The Almajiri population, predominant in the northern parts of the country, is categorized among out-of-school children. Determined to nip the consequences of having a large army of uneducated adults in the bud, the federal government, for the first time, set up the Madrasah Education Committee to deal with the issue. It later followed this up with the inauguration of the National Almajiri Education Implementation Committee (NAEIC) by Education Minister, Prof. Rukayyatu Rufai in October 2010.The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) were then asked to come up with strategies to deal with the problem.According to NAEIC's chairman, Prof. Shehu Galadanchi, the committee had to embark on numerous advocacy meetings to explain the intentions of government to various stakeholders, due to the complex nature of the Almajiri phenomenon.The Vice President told the participants that the federal government's desire to provide access to basic education of good quality for all out-of-school children, informed the decision to tackle the Almajiri phenomenon. According to him, about 9.5 million children were currently enrolled in Quranic schools across the country, with no access to formal education. But he pledged that the concept would also be extended to the South East, where many young children, especially boys are shunning formal education and taking to trading.Executive Secretary of UBEC, Dr Ahmed Modibo Mohammed explained that since December 11, 2010 when Sambo laid the foundation stone of the Model Almajiri Boarding School in Gantsa, Jigawa state, about 66 others were currently being constructed in 22 states. He stated that the NAEIC had identified three main intervention strategies to cover the different institutional setups of the traditional Almajiri school system. These were categorized into Models 1, 2 and 3.He revealed that 51 Model 1 schools were currently under construction across the federation. 'Each will accommodate 50 students and the facilities include: recitation hall, one block of two classrooms, office and toilet, hostel block with toilets and laundry, one block of VIP toilets, hand pump borehole, gate house and fence and external works.'Mohammed also affirmed that 13 Model 2 projects, with each having the capacity to accommodate 300 students, are to be undertaken across the country. The facilities in each of them will include: recitation hall, administration block, two laboratories, two workshops, classrooms, offices and toilet, hostel block with toilets and laundry, a block of VIP toilet and Amir residence.He also revealed that TETFund was constructing 36 Model Almajiri schools in 18 states, had developed the curriculum in line with the national version in basic education and had also published textbooks based on the curriculum.During the interactive session the governor of Katsina state, Ibrahim Shema advocated the use of Arabic language as the medium of instruction in the Almajiri schools. To him, unless the language issue was addressed, maximum benefits might be out of reach. He said that Katsina had experimented with the idea, when it sent 270 individuals to study the Arabic language in Sudan, leading to benefits.His Kwara state counterpart, Abdufatah Ahmed was more concerned with the sustainability of the initiative. But the more important issue, he argued, is how to find a permanent solution to the Almajiri phenomenon. The governor agreed that it was a good thing to take care of the current Almajiri children, but he asked: 'What about those coming after them'' He insisted that the government and all stakeholders should be more concerned about stamping out the Almajiri culture from its roots. He urged the government to look into how Almajiri children are made and see how the culture could be extinguished. He also advocated various forms of vocational training for those who had graduated from being Almajiri children to adults.Although the Lagos State Deputy governor, Mrs Funke Adefulure commended the federal government's efforts to address the Almajiri issue, she doubted if Lagos was going to find such schools useful. She asked for clarification on how Lagos could be part of the project, insisting that the state had already established an all-inclusive education system. 'Our education is all-inclusive, so I need clarification on how we (Lagos) can key into the Almajiri system,' she stated.Chairman of the Governors' Forum and Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi called for the declaration of a state of emergency in the education sector across the northern states. He said this was necessary to address poverty and ignorance of the mind. Amaechi insited that if northern children were smart enough to learn and recite the Holy Quran by rote, he was convinced that the same children could also do well if taken through formal education.He insisted that if the Almajiri children could not do anything outside reciting the Quran, 'then we, as a government, as a country should take responsibility because we have deliberately denied them (children) that privilege.'He also took exceptions to the concept 'Almajiri,' insisting that it was a negative term. 'Let's change the name (Almajiri) to something else,' he said, 'because the children will see themselves as begging for education. It is the right of every child to be educated.'The Vice President noted that from the statement of the Lagos State Deputy Governor, it appears 'they don't need the Almajiri schools.' He said the federal government would henceforth channel its resources to other states where such schools were needed, but pledged that the only school being constructed in Lagos would be completed.Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saad Abubakar appealed to the participants not to see the Almajiri project as a solution to a religious problem. He averred that since some people could easily read a negative meaning to the intention of government, it was important to stress that the Almajiri project be seen as a solution to a social and not a religious problem. 'Islam does not encourage begging,' he asserted. 'Those children who go begging are doing so because their parents are poor. The Almajiri problem is a social problem. If we ascribe it to Islam, we will be missing the point, so that tomorrow, somebody will not come and ask for a solution to a 'Christian' problem. The Sultan, who spoke on behalf of traditional rulers, also pledged to assist governments at all levels on the initiative.Executive Secretary of TETFund, Prof Mahmud Yakubu read out the terms of the federal government's commitment to the initiative. According to him, the federal government would, among others, provide textbooks, develop the curriculum, build teachers' capacity, construct model schools and the laboratories associated with them. Bu the various states, which are to take charge of the schools later, he noted, are also required to provide the land for the construction of the schools, recruit and pay teachers, and the support staff and also ensure that Almajiri teachers are not transferred to conventional schools.Amaechi signed the Affirmation of Support for the initiative on behalf of the state governments while Sambo signed on behalf of the federal government.
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