Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje has on Monday, December 7 alleged that most students in Quranic school, popularly called ‘Almajiris’ are not Nigerians.
These students, who are young children, are often seen roaming the streets in the northern part of the country, begging alms.
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While declaring open a 3-day retreat organised by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) in Kano, Governor Ganduje said;
A lot of them are foreigners from Niger Republic, Chad and Cameroun.
From the survey we have conducted, most of the Almajiri roaming our streets are from Niger, Chad and the northern part of Cameroun.
The theme of the retreat is, “Enhancing Basic Education in Nigeria towards a Robust Institutional Strengthening and Effective Stakeholder Engagement”.
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Ganduje disclosed that free and compulsory primary and secondary school education, as well as the transformation of Almajiri education system, were some of his major priorities in the education sector.
According to the Governor, the retreat is also important because it is coming at a time education has become the first victim of uncontrolled population, especially when it is not matched with appropriate economic development.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary, UBEC, Dr Hamid Bobboye, said that the retreat was aimed at providing an opportunity for the board and management to brainstorm, exchange ideas and strategies toward moving basic education forward.
He expressed that the board and management would review strategic priorities and propose workable changes in the institution’s structure to drive both medium and long term goals of the commission.
