Can Kaduna state get 10,000 Almajiri children off the streets and into school?

After several attempts with little results to reintegrate children back to school, could there be more the state government can do to achieve its aim?

The Kaduna state government recently announced its plans to reduce the number of out-of-school children in its state by providing free education for 10,000 Almajiri children. This announcement follows a series of reintegration programs the state government has embarked on over the year. However, its track record in reducing the number of children on the street has not been encouraging.

The details

On the 4th of November 2023, Rabi Salisu, the commissioner for Human Services and Social Development of Kaduna state said to the press:

“We want at least 10,000 out-of-school children to be enrolled between now and January. These children will come out of the Tsangaya education system; this would consist of the hawkers and the main target, those who roam around the streets.”

• Pioneered by the Kaduna state’s Ministry of Human Services and Social Development, the aim of the Tsangaya system of education is to enhance the value and status of Tsangaya institutions by introducing Western education and skill acquisition to fit into the changing times and also ensure control of the influx. This latest intervention has a target of about 10,000 children.
• With assistance from UNICEF, the Kaduna state government assured the people that drastic measures are currently in place to curb the incidents of out-of-school children.
• UNICEF estimates that about 104,000 Almajiri children and 105,000 out-of-school girls are in Kaduna. The government hopes to cut down on these figures with this latest intervention.
• In a press conference, Wilfred Mamah, a child protection specialist from UNICEF, stated that, “The greatest and most current challenge in Kaduna State is the reality of children as young as two years old roaming around the streets…there’s a need for us to take action.”

Some background

The Hausa word Almajiri is derived from the Arabic word, المُهَاجِرْ “al-Muhājir,” which refers to a person who migrates from his home in search of Islamic knowledge. It is associated with the word Almajiranci which refers to a system of Islamic education practiced in northern Nigeria.

But in recent times, this word has become associated with out-of-school children whose daily routine is begging for alms on the streets. This poor system of abandoned children has existed for several decades and is a growing cause for concern in Nigeria, where the number of out-of-school children is at a record high.

“In the whole world, Nigeria has the highest number of out-of-school children. We have 17 million as of today, and Kaduna state has about 680,000 out-of-school children. And the only way to address the issue of Sustainable Development Goals is to be able to make sure every child goes to school,” said Senator Uba Sani, Governor of Kaduna State.

Caveat

Over the years, the government has organized several intervention schemes to reintegrate children back into schools and take them off the street. However, there seems to be a huge gap in the recorded outcomes of these programs.

In 2012, Ex-President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan launched the first Almajiri school in Gagi, Sokoto. Present during this commissioning were Ex-Governor Aliyu Wammako and the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’adu Abubakar, while Ex-Governor Sadiu Dakingari of Kebbi State and others watched during the official ceremony to commission the Model Almajiri school at Gagi, Sokoto State.

The Sultan pledged to mobilize the state’s diverse groups effectively to support Almajiri’s mobilization. At the time, the governor of Sokoto State, Aliyu Wammako Magatakarda, responded by ordering the state’s local government chairmen to repeat the gesture in their respective towns. He promised that his administration would make every effort to fulfill the aspirations of a high-quality Almajiri education system in the state.

On Thursday, 18th August 2022, a decade after the launch of the Almajiri school, former minister of education Adamu Adamu said during a ministerial briefing held in the state house that the failed because it was poorly implemented. He also stated that the states had to cooperate with the intervention of the Federal government for a success to be recorded.

According to the minister, some northern governors are “destroying” education at the primary school level.

“So unless we have full cooperation from the states, I think achieving the objectives of nomadic education will take a long time to come. I hope states will change their attitude,” he said.

Later that year, on the 9th of November, the Kaduna state government, in partnership with UNICEF announced cash disbursements to Almajiri children under the “Children Street Programme”.

Through the programme, 2,674 Almajiri reunited with their families and were said to have received N5,000 to enroll in school or learn skills.

At the program inauguration, Dr. Hadiza Sabuwa, the then deputy governor of Kaduna state, said that the government’s focus on human capital development and equal opportunities led to the decision to make education free and compulsory for the first 12 years of schooling. Sabuwa, who was represented by James Kanyip, Deputy Chief of Staff, Government House, said the government is replacing the current practice of the Almajiri system “with a more organized and humane system that allows the children to access the indicators of human development such as qualitative education and healthcare.”

Moving forward

The work of the government in reducing the number of out-of-school children by Almajiri education is not a new thing, but the real question worth answering is what approach is being taken to secure a positive outcome.

Several initiatives and programs have been targeted at achieving this aim, but they all seem to be poorly executed or sustained. Only time will tell if the government of Kaduna state will be able to mitigate this problem.