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Katsina State’s one-day stakeholder engagement connected reforming the Almajiri and Islamiyya system, held connected September 22, 2025, represents a commendable measurement successful tackling a longstanding nationalist blight. Convened by Governor Dikko Umaru Radda, the forum brought unneurotic spiritual leaders, parents, authorities agencies, improvement partners, and stakeholders to analyse the system’s challenges and suggest context-specific solutions. With Katsina grappling with precocious out-of-school rates, poverty, and insecurity, the lawsuit emphasised the request for an Almajiri census to pass evidence-based planning, participatory exemplary development, and legislative reforms.
This inaugural not lone builds connected section dialogues from July 2025 but besides invites a broader reappraisal of the advancement of Almajiri acquisition crossed Northern Nigeria. Federal interventions, specified arsenic those done commissions similar the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education (NCAOOSCE), merit scrutiny for their impacts, alongside a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) investigation to pass lessons and pathways forward. As Nigeria contends with implicit 18 cardinal out-of-school children, predominantly successful the North, Katsina’s attack offers invaluable insights for nationwide adoption.
Progress connected Almajiri reforms successful Northern Nigeria has been incremental yet fraught with hurdles. Since the Universal Basic Education Act of 2004 mandated the integration of accepted Quranic schools into ceremonial acquisition systems, states person experimented with models that blend spiritual and secular curricula. In 2025, NCAOOSCE intensified efforts, registering thousands for mainstreaming and partnering with states similar Yobe, which allocated N750 cardinal for Almajiri infrastructure. Kano’s revitalisation successful July 2025 enrolled 5,000 successful hybrid schools, portion Bauchi’s exemplary schools provided vocational training. Federal programmes similar the Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) person reached implicit 1.5 cardinal children since 2018, resulting successful a simplification successful begging successful aviator areas. However, enrolment remains low, with lone marginal decreases successful the 10 cardinal Almajiri population, according to UNESCO estimates.
Impact assessments of national interventions uncover mixed results. NCAOOSCE, established successful 2019 and revamped successful 2022, has built implicit 100 exemplary schools nationwide, integrating 18,670 teachers into mainstream systems by June 2025. Yet, evaluations by the International Rescue Committee and ResearchGate item failures successful enrolment owed to absorption from Mallams, who presumption reforms arsenic diluting Islamic traditions. In Sokoto and Kano, taste attitudes prioritising spiritual implicit secular acquisition person stymied progress, with poorness forcing parents to nonstop children distant arsenic “insurance” against aged age. The commission’s N1.5 cardinal 2025 fund has funded certifications astatine institutions similar Federal University Dutsinma, but implementation gaps, specified arsenic underutilised funds and mediocre coordination, person constricted reach. A 2025 Anti-Slavery International study notes that without addressing kid labour ties, reforms perpetuate exploitation.
A SWOT investigation underscores the system’s complexities. Strengths see its taste embeddedness and imaginable for motivation education, arsenic noted by Katsina stakeholders, who recognised its relation successful quality building. Weaknesses encompass vulnerability to begging, wellness risks, and deficiency of ceremonial skills, turning Almajiri into a “time bomb” for insecurity, per the Northern Elders Forum. Opportunities prevarication successful integration, specified arsenic Dutsinma’s certification programme, which fosters employability, oregon BESDA’s vocational add-ons. Threats see struggle displacing schools successful Borno, clime shocks specified arsenic floods successful Adamawa, and argumentation discontinuities, arsenic seen successful past failed efforts owed to backing shortages and readying deficits.
Contrasting Katsina’s proactive stance with Borno’s situation illuminates determination disparities. Katsina’s emic approach, which identifies nonaccomplishment factors specified arsenic accelerated societal changes and ample families, proposes a authorities committee and unified laws for Tsangaya schools. This could trim the fig of out-of-school children, estimated astatine 1.5 cardinal successful Katsina. In Borno, however, insurgency and September 2025 floods person displaced 2 cardinal children, destroyed makeshift schools and exacerbated the 2.2 cardinal Northeast IDPs. Yobe’s N750 cardinal allocation pales successful examination to the information threats, leaving reforms stalled. Social media sentiments bespeak frustration, with users questioning wherefore palmy models similar Kano’s are not scaled to situation zones.
Lessons from Katsina and nationalist efforts are instructive. Participatory dialogues output buy-in, avoiding top-down pitfalls that bred resistance. Federal interventions indispensable prioritise coordination, arsenic NCAOOSCE...
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