- Lawyers, clerics, others back, oppose proposed action
- … say some operators abuse innocent children
- ‘It’s a breeding ground for beggars, miscreants’
- Ban’ll be recipe for chaos, just reform system – NGO
By Juliana Uche-Okobi
President Muhammadu Buhari might just have raised some anxiety on Nigeria’s educational and socio-political landscapes with his recent pronouncements on the Almajiri system of Islamic education in northern Nigeria. From the deluge of divergent opinions that greeted his remarks on the phenomenon while inaugurating the National Economic Council recently, the President had no other choice but to clear the air on his position on the matter.
President Buhari’s statement on the Almajiri education system formed part of his speech during the NEC meeting.
Following the United Nations report that Nigeria still ranked atop countries with high rate of out-of-school children, President Buhari had, drawing strength from the Nigerian Constitution, urged state governors to make efforts to provide free and compulsory basic education for all children.
He had said, “On education, I want to stress in particular the need to take very seriously and enforce very rigorously the statutory provisions on free and compulsory basic education. Section 18 (3) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, places on all of us here an obligation to eradicate illiteracy and provide free and compulsory education.
“Section 2 of the Compulsory, Free Universal Basic Education Act provides that every government in Nigeria shall provide free, compulsory and universal basic education for every child of primary and junior secondary school age.
‘‘It is, indeed, a crime for any parent to keep his child out of school for this period. In my view, when a government fails to provide the schools, teachers and teaching materials necessary for basic education, it is actually aiding and abetting that crime.”
The National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, had on his part told journalists after the NEC meeting that the Almajirai were posing a security threat, disclosing that they would be proscribed.
These comments sparked nationwide reactions in favour of and against the proposed proscription. To set the records straight, therefore, the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Garba Shehu, took it upon himself to clarify issues.
He explained that though the Federal Government wanted children of school age off the streets, it had not resolved to collapse the Almajiri form of education instantly. He explained that before government would ban the Almajiri system (a Koranic form of tutelage and apprenticeship that is entrenched in the North and often sustained by begging for alms), the administration would consult widely with stakeholders.
Shehu noted that in as much as the Federal Government wanted all children of school age to be in school, rather than on the streets begging for alms, as is common among the Almajirai, it had no immediate plan to proscribe the system, even though that was the target of government.
The debate on whether or not to proscribe Almajiri education has generated a lot of interests, particularly because it tends to be hinged on the culture and Islamic religion predominant in the North. It entails parents sending their children to stay with an Islamic scholar in another locality in pursuit of Koranic education. The ugly side, however, is that some of the teachers that accommodate the children do not have the financial wherewithal to adequately take care of them, since they do not return to their parents. In order to provide for their needs, the Mallams provide them with bowls and send them to the streets to beg for alms.
Analysts say Koranic education insulates children from western education. It also does not avail them the opportunity to socialise and relate with others with different backgrounds and views but, instead, dwells more on imparting religious knowledge to them. This constitutes a source of worry to the Federal Government. Apart from violating the provisions of the Child Rights Act, which condemns enslavement and abuse of children in whatever form, the Almajiri system of education also denies children basic Western education, which the Constitution compels government at all levels to provide.
Since the President spoke on the matter, different views have emerged. Benjamin Izuogu, a lawyer and activist, said it was high time the “old fashioned” Almajiri education system was halted. While not condemning the acquisition of Koranic education by Muslims, Izuogu said he was disturbed that the system, rather than train children to be independent, actually turned them to liabilities by making them beggars.
He, however, stressed that, in banning Almajiri education, efforts should be made to provide an alternative means of livelihood for the children.
“I subscribe to the idea of banning the Almajiri education system because it seems to me as a breeding ground for beggars. But in doing this, government should create a viable avenue for the children to survive since we are talking about survival and securing the future of our children,” he said.
The Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, had in the past also called for a critical look into the Almajiri practice, advocating a reform of the system.
Chairman of the Pentecostal Bishops’ Forum of the 19 Northern States, Archbishop John Praise Daniel, was also reported to have given kudos to the Federal Government for contemplating the proscription of the Almajiri education system, which he said had contributed to poverty and insecurity in the North.
However, some Islamic scholars appear practically unsettled by the President’s plan to scrap the Almajiri system, which Shehu said had become a dent on the image of the North.
Speaking last Wednesday during an interactive programme on television, the Vice Chairman of the Almajiri Empowerment Foundation, Muazu Magaji, indicated that banning the practice would be a recipe for chaos. He said proscribing the Almajiri education system was not an option. Though he condemned begging by children, he said, rather, government should reform the system so that it would assume the form of Islamiyya school, whereby parents take responsibility for their wards’ welfare rather than leaving them at the mercy of Mallams, who exploit them at will. In addition to infusing Western education into the Almajiri system, Magaji also said that the children could also use their break time to embark on skill acquisition rather than soliciting for alms.
Stressing that it was unacceptable to dehumanise children in the name of education, he cautioned that if the schools were proscribed, the helpless children would become ready instruments in the hands of extremists.
“If you proscribe, you will give the extremists a harvest ground to recruit,” he said.
The Almajiri education system and its effects on Nigeria’s socio-economic life has been a source of concern for a long time now. To address the problem, and take the children off the streets, former President Goodluck Jonathan invested billions of naira in building model Almajiri schools. But when he left office in 2015, the schools ceased to operate.
Magaji pointed out that Jonathan’s initiative, though well-intentioned, probably over-reformed to the extent that the northern elite and religious leaders were uncomfortable with it.
Similarly, weeks ago, when the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, kicked off his Kukah Initiative on Almajiri Education, to rehabilitate and adapt the system in the same line with the AEF vice chairman’s proposal, some Muslim stakeholders expressed reservations.
The Muslim Rights Concern went as far as rejecting Kukah’s initiative, stating that it was a means of “Christianising” the children.
Education analysts, however, warned that government would have to tread with caution on the Almajiri education system, being a volatile issue hinged on religious education. But the bottom line is that government wants all Nigerian children of school age to be in school and would not condone anything that keeps them out of school.
As Shehu stressed, “Free and compulsory primary school education is a requirement of the Nigerian constitution and any individual or group not in compliance with this is violating the law of the land and liable to be punished. The obvious question is, how would the issue be addressed to achieve a lasting solution?”
A lawyer, Princewill Akpakpan, said that fundamental issues that brought about the Almajiri system, in the first place, must be addressed. The lawyer, who argued that some persons working with the President were “bereft of ideas,” said that banning the system was not a solution.
“What government should do is to address issues of poverty, injustice, insecurity and other social vices plaguing Nigeria. Even if you ban or give it (Almajiri) another name, we will still be where we are. If you want a solution, make the economy people-friendly and see the difference,” Akpakpan said.
