Arabic Schools Board: Borrowing from Kano and Kwara states

The Board is to regulate Arabic and Qur’anic (also known as ‘Almajijri’) schools. The Kwankwasiyyah Governor of Kano state explained that the bill was inspired by the need to co-ordinate and assist the schools which according to him are more in number than western-oriented schools within the state. Coming after the ban on street begging […]

The Board is to regulate Arabic and Qur’anic (also known as ‘Almajijri’) schools. The Kwankwasiyyah Governor of Kano state explained that the bill was inspired by the need to co-ordinate and assist the schools which according to him are more in number than western-oriented schools within the state. Coming after the ban on street begging by Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, the new Arabic Board in Kano state is officially called Qur’anic and Islamiyyah Schools Management Board.
Beside the need to make the over 200-years-old system of Islamic learning in Northern Nigeria functional after it lost its orthodox glory in the past five decades, the menace of street begging by school-age children which has continued to bedevil this invaluable system is another strong justification for the regulatory agency established by the governors of Kano and Kwara states. Street begging that today characterizes the Qur’anic school system as if it were an integral part of it is actually more of a socio-economic phenomenon than a religious tradition. The collective failure of the government of the northern states of Nigeria to squarely address the attendant challenges of traditional Qur’anic schools which are practically peculiar to the northern part of the country shows the insensitivity of the leaders of the region to the needs, interests, worries and crises that have direct consequences on the life of the people they lead. Considering their ‘body language’, northern states’ governors do not even seem, in my opinion, to perceive any implied message(s) from the indifferent attitude of the federal government as manifest in the lip-services it pays to the thrusts of the Almajiri Education Programme.
The decision by the Kano state government to outlaw begging is a major step at re- modeling Qur’anic schools in the light of existing best practices in the contemporary Muslim World. Begging was not part of the traditions of the orthodox Qur’anic schools. The bastardization of the traditional Qur’anic schools especially in Muslim communities of northern Nigeria arose from the characterization of the economic system by injustice and social inequality as well as the shrinking of the Zakat institution in to mere act of paltry charity giving. These events consequently led to the institutionalization of beggary as a means of sustenance which negative implications include child abuse and exploitation. The objectives and ideals of the orthodox Qur’anic Schools are loosely pursued today by the custodians of the system (Islamic scholars and teachers) in a manner that makes them vulnerable to extraneous variables of modernization and materialism.
Beside regulating the existing Qur’anic and Islamiyyah schools, we expect the Arabic Schools Board in Kano and Kwara states to reposition the schools by incorporating western school subjects in to their curriculum including basic vocational skills as stipulated in the existing National Policy on Education. As it is now, the traditional Qur’anic school system needs a reform agenda though in a manner that would not subject it to loosing its core principles and values. This is necessary if the system is to remain relevant in a modern society that is information-technology-driven. Salient issues which need serious attention in the existing system include over-population, mobilizing parental participation, reducing vulnerability to social ills, pupils’ feeding, healthcare and accommodation.
Providing support for proprietors and teachers of Qur’anic schools is also an important area of intervention for the Arabic Schools Board. Proprietors of these schools resort to exploiting their pupils because their sources of livelihood are  limited to charity, peasant farming, and charges for spiritual-healing consultations. The pupils themselves rely on begging and miniature jobs (such as cobbling) as means of sustenance.
Charged specifically with the responsibility to regulate, monitor and evaluate the operations of Arabic and Islamiyyah schools, the Board should be able to co-ordinate and synergize between the separate interventions of international and local donour agencies such as UNICEF, UNESCO, DFID, World Bank, and the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Nomadic and non-Formal Education (NMEC).
The establishment of Arabic Schools Board will no doubt facilitate and ease the activities of the National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies (NBAIS), which like WAEC and NECO, is a national examination body charged with the statutory responsibility of conducting the Senior Arabic and Islamic Studies Schools Certificate Examination (SAISSCE). Students of Colleges of Arts and Islamic Studies and other specialized Islamiyyah Secondary Schools (public as well as private) across the country sit for the SAISSCE in the final year of their senior secondary school just as their counterparts in conventional secondary schools write WAEC and NECO. With the Arabic Schools Board in Kano and Kwara States, issues relating to registration of candidates, prompt remittance of examination fees by states, and the co-ordination of practical examinations for science subjects would be handled better than when Arabic and Islamic education matters were part of the numerous school subjects struggling for attention at the state ministry of education.
It is in view of the utility of this Board that we encourage other states especially in the north where Islamiyyah schools are in greater number to borrow a leaf from Kano and Kwara states. If many states of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) found it expedient to establish agencies such as Science and Technical Schools Board because of the position of science and technology in western education, there shouldn’t arise (I suppose) any constraints in establishing a Board for Arabic and Islamic education given the place of this model of education in Muslim communities of Nigeria.
If the ban placed by the Kano state government on street-begging is to be effective, other states within the region must also outlaw the practice. Otherwise, those who believe begging is an ‘integral’ part of Qur’anic education would simply migrate to such states that are friendly to the practice. May Allah (SWT) guide our leaders to always to do the right thing at the right time and for the right purpose, amin.