Almajiri: Why the ban on street begging in Kano should stay
What initially started as a genuine search for Islamic knowledge centuries ago especially after the Usman Dan Fodio jihad when Islamic scholars were scarce and pupils had to travel for hundreds of kilometers more often on foot to acquire knowledge, has now metamorphosed into what can be described as commercialized or materialistic knowledge-seeking. Nowadays, instead […]
What initially started as a genuine search for Islamic knowledge centuries ago especially after the Usman Dan Fodio jihad when Islamic scholars were scarce and pupils had to travel for hundreds of kilometers more often on foot to acquire knowledge, has now metamorphosed into what can be described as commercialized or materialistic knowledge-seeking. Nowadays, instead of seeking deep and genuine Islamic knowledge, children as young as three years are separated from their parents to live and eke a living in cities as almajiris thereby becoming victims of diseases, starvation and rape.
This has not only brought about social dislocation in the Hausa-Fulani North but has led to economic and educational backwardness: crushing poverty, ignorance, diseases of the mind and body, societal rudderlessness, high rate of violent crimes, banditry, killings and many more vices that are a blot in the name of our society. The once prosperous, industrious, knowledgeable, hard-working and cohesive northern society is now a shadow of its former self. One of the causes of this sad scenario is the age-long archaic almajiri system that has refused to embrace modernity.
In his characteristic foresight, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State has decided to take the bull by the horn in order to bring to an end the menace of almajiri system and thankfully many governors are now towing his line.
But even before imposing the ban on street begging, the Ganduje administration has taken some measures toward modernizing the age-long informal system of Islamic education as typified tsangaya schools that are scattered all over the state. For example, in order to regulate and assist the malams that run these schools, the state government established the Qur’anic and Islamiyya Schools Management Board now under the purview of the newly created Ministry of Religious Affairs.
The ultimate objective is to bring about the full integration of the tsangaya schools into the mainstream educational system especially as recently the state government has engaged the services of 8,000 teachers who will be posted mostly to these tsangaya schools to teach the pupils English and Mathematics in addition to their Qur’anic and Arabic studies.
By virtue of its large population and commercial and cosmopolitan nature, Kano State is a magnet to many almajiris from neighbouring states and even countries who seek cover under the hospitable disposition of its people and the recent census of tsangaya pupils has attested to this fact as many of the pupils are from outside the state. This has contributed to the high number of out-of-school children in the state which the present administration is set to grapple with especially after the introduction of the free and compulsory education at basic and secondary school levels with the expected rise in the enrolment of pupils as the state government provides free uniforms to new intakes in addition to free lunch to primary four to six pupils.
Another commendable measure is the decision of the state government to open three mega boarding schools, one each in the three senatorial districts for the settlement of the almajiris. These schools can accommodate up to 4,000 each and modern facilities like dormitories, workshops, kitchens, etc have been provided. One of the formidable challenges threatening the smooth implementation of the free and compulsory education policy is funding and inadequacy of structures, teaching and learning materials and manpower.
These are some of the measures the present administration of Governor Ganduje has taken in order to revolutionize the education sector, integrate the thousands of tsangaya schools into the mainstream educational system, bring to an end the nauseating street begging by children, reduce to the barest minimum the number of out-of-school children and overcome the formidable challenges facing the sector so that the huge population of the state can be transformed into an asset. It is gratifying to note that some well-meaning organizations like the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has shared the vision of Governor Ganduje by calling on the federal government to criminalize child abandonment by parents.
What is more gratifying is that several state governors in the north have also towed the line of the governor by banning street begging in the name of seeking for Islamic knowledge by minors many of whom turn out to be glorified ignorant malams. So, the ban against the almajiri system or street begging should stay because it does more harm than good to our society. As for those who are against the ban, they should send their wards or children to almajiri system if they strongly believe that the almajiri system is good or divinely sanctioned.