Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State has said his administration will not ban the Almajiri education system as being speculated.
He gave the assurance on Saturday, at the closing ceremony of a two-day workshop for the adaptation of the Indonesian Pondok system into the Almajiri-Islamiyya educational system in the state.
The governor stated that banning the Almajiri education system would contribute to the number of out-of-school children in the country.
Tambuwal added that the review of the Almajiri education system will help reduce the number of children that are out of school in the country.
He, however, stated that the education system will be remodelled by adapting the Indonesian Pondok system to make it better.
He said: “We are not aiming to ban the Almajiri qur’anic education system as some people have urged the Sokoto state government to emulate other states.
“We are striving to provide reasonable solutions to the challenges and with the present initiative, the time has come.”
In his remarks, Sultan of Sokoto, HRH Sa’ad Abubakar III, advised the federal government and the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) to consider making financial provisions to the Almajiri system.
He advised other states to adopt the remodelling initiative adopted by Sokoto, adding that it will help to also add value to Nigeria’s educational system.
On her part, Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on National Social Investment Programmes, Maryam Uwais, commended the initiative.
She said: “The huge numbers of marginalised youths and children who have no education, school dropouts who have no skills, have contributed to the dismal outcomes of security challenges.
“The challenges also include females who face incidents of gender-based violence, along with cases of early marriages arising from lack of education, which leads to diminished opportunities.”
Tracknews Online reports that the Almajiri system is a process where children leave their homes in search of Islamic knowledge, while the Pondok system is a form of Muslim education practised in Indonesia.
