Katsina to Reform Almajiri Education System, Identifies 106,000 Pupils

By Francis Sardauna

The Katsina State Government has identified 106,000 Almajiri pupils across 5,558 Islamic schools in the 34 local government areas of the state in a bid to modernise the Almajiri system of education and avert the menace of street begging in the state.

The state Chairman, Committee for Data Collection on Almajiri Pupils, Schools and Reformation of Allo System of Education, Husseini Adamu Karaduwa, stated this in an exclusive interview with THISDAY Sunday.

He said the committee has submitted its report to the state government and plans have been concluded to repatriate 7,893 Almajiri to their respective home states, adding that 2,058 out of the number to be repatriated are from Niger Republic.

He explained that the committee recommended for their repatriation in accordance with the terms of references given it, adding that: “We have made a submission to the state government and the government had made approval on how to go about it.”

Karaduwa said: “At the end of the committee’s assignment, we discovered that the state has 106,000 almajiri. 7,893 are none indigenes studying Qur’an at various Qur’anic schools across the state. Out of this, we have 2,058 who are from Niger Republic. So, 7,893 are the ones that are due for repatriation right now.”

He added that the state government is in the process of reviewing the law that established the state Islamic Education Bureau in order to implement the intending reformation of the Almajiri system of education in the state.

He, however, attributed crimes associated with the Almajiri system to numerable years of neglect by both parents, communities, operators of the system and successful administrations in the country.