Senate president faults Almajiri system, says it exposes children to multiple risks
- Senate president Lawan has faulted the current Almajiri system of education
- The chairman of the National Assembly maintained that the system exposes children to risks
- Lawan, however, said that the system must be fully integrated to achieve the desired goal
Following the risks associated with the operation of the current Almajiri system of education in Nigeria, the Senate president Ahmed Lawan, has called for the total overhauling of the system.
Legit.ng's regional reporter in Kaduna, Nasir Dambatta, reports that the Senate president, who was represented by the lawmaker representing Kaduna north, Suleiman Abdu Kwari, at a public lecture at the Arewa house, Kaduna, said the Almajiri system being operated currently, exposes children to multiple risks of manipulation and indoctrination.
He lamented that a worse form of kidnapping was witnessed with reported cases of young children kidnapped from the northern part of the country and moved to states far away from their origin.
Lawan expressed worry that most of the kidnapped children were allegedly sold out to people and given new identities.
He said that unlike the past when the Almajiri system of education recorded some achievements in literacy and social services, the present day system has been faced with numerous challenges.
"Findings have revealed that most of the present day Almajiri children are more exposed to social vices such as kidnapping, ritual killing, malnutrition among others.
"There have also been reported cases of almajiri pupils being radicalized and brainwashed by terrorists and other criminal elements. Others are vulnerable to various forms of abuse, drugs and exploitation," he said.
He added that the Almajiri system of education as practised today is a completely bastardised system compared to the way it operated in the past.
"In the past, street begging was not involved and pupils were hardly found roaming all nooks and crannies of the street and reduced to engaging in menial jobs in order to feed themselves.
"Our children need to be safeguarded from roaming the streets and protected from evil influences that assail idle hands and minds," he said.
He observed the need for partnership between the government, religious and traditional leaders to proffer ways to phase out the Almajiri system of education.
The system, he said, needs to be remodelled and fully integrated into the nation's educational systems.
"Orientation programmes and public lectures such as this should be consistently organized to sensitize people on the need to tackle the menace," he said.
PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read the best news on Nigeria’s #1 news app
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar, called on the federal government to revive the Almajiri special school system to address cases of street begging.
NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng Same great journalism, upgraded for better service!
Nigerians set 2nd term agenda for President Buhari | - on Legit TV
Source: Legit.ng
