Nigeria: Kano to train foreign ‘Almajiris’

Kano State in Northwestern Nigeria is planning to build special schools for Quranic disciple pupils otherwise called Almajiris.

The project aims to upgrade Almajiri education in the state to equal other Muslim countries’, the State Governor, Umar Ganduje said, Saturday.

Aside from reducing street begging, the State aims to make the Almajiris self-reliant for greater economic impact in the state, Ganduje said during a visit to the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.

Kano is thought to have one of the highest population of Almajiris in Nigeria.

A “significant percentage” of the Almajiris therein is however comprised of children from other countries and States, Ganduje disclosed.

“Many of our Almajiris in Kano are not from the state.

“Some are even from the neighbouring countries of Niger Republic, Chad and some parts of Cameroon,” said the Governor.

This high concentration of Almajiris, the Governor attributed to the cosmopolitan nature of Kano.

That notwithstanding, they residing in the state means the State must find ways to remodel the Almajiri system for its overall development, Ganduje said.

The Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Mr. Hamid Bobboyi expressed hope that other states would copy from Kano, as part of strategies for “genuine human development, starting from the younger ones, insisting that, ”

“This will go a long way in making sure that all segments of our population are assets for the nation’s growth and development,” he said.