Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal has said that the state government is targeting the remodelling of the Qur’anic education system and not banning it.
Tambuwal spoke on Saturday at the closing of a two-day workshop for the adaptation of the Indonesian Pondok system into the Almajiri-Islamiyya educational system in the state.
The Governor also expressed government’s determination to ensure that the initiative is implemented to the letter, stressing that any recognisable success of the system would upgrade and improve the state’s educational system.
Tambuwal 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”.
He also assured full implementation of the suggestions made by resource persons and the design of a programme that would surely be a solution to the educational challenges, especially bridging the gap of out-of-school children.
In his remarks, Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, urged the Federal Government and its agencies, including the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and others to consider making financial provisions to the Almajiri qur’anic educational system.
The revered royal father noted that when the implementation of the initiative begins, the out-of-school children figure will drop as well as curtail those roaming the streets.
The Sultan also urged others states to emulate Sokoto State on the initiative in recognition of its importance and suitability to Nigerian’s system of education.
The Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on National Social Investment Programmes, Mrs Maryam Uwais, expressed delight at the initiative, saying that the development was in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s efforts at reducing poverty and empowering Nigerians.
”The huge numbers of marginalized youths and children, who have no education, school dropouts who have no skills, have contributed to the dismal outcomes of security challenges.
Mrs Uwais said, “The challenges also include females who faced incidence of gender based violence, along with cases of early marriages arising from lack of education, which leads to diminished opportunities”.
She noted that the Pandok system focuses on character development and addressing socio-economic challenges that children faced, as well as improving educational levels which were all aligned with Sustainable Development Goals.
Uwais added that her office was working towards empowering between 30 to 50 youths in all the local government councils to supervise and monitor others on valuable skills to be acquired, through various initiatives.
Earlier, the Executive Director, Sokoto State Arabic and Islamic Education Board, Alhaji Umar Altine, said based on the study conducted, the Pandok system of education in Indonesia were owned and managed by individuals or communities, regulated and assisted by the federal ministry of religious affairs.
Altine said the major sources of sustainability were Endowments (Waqf) and Alumni, noting that based on advocacy and sensitisation by the board, six Qur’anic schools have adopted the model.
In her presentation, UNICEF Education Specialist, Sokoto Field Office, Dr Safiyya Tahir, said that about 1.2 million children were out of school in Sokoto State, noting that early children development centres were mostly owned by private schools, with only a small percentage owned by public schools.
Tahir said the Pandok system would be relevant to the culture of Sokoto people because they shared similarities with the Indonesians, as many families prepared their children for enrolment in religious schools in early life.
