Bauchi: Revolutionising Tsangaya education

Bauchi State is one of the states that have the largest number of Tsangaya schools in Nigeria. Formerly, people in Tsangaya learnt only the recitation and memorization of the holy Qur’an.  At the end of their studies each day, they go from house to house begging for food and money in order to have something […]

Bauchi State is one of the states that have the largest number of Tsangaya schools in Nigeria. Formerly, people in Tsangaya learnt only the recitation and memorization of the holy Qur’an.  At the end of their studies each day, they go from house to house begging for food and money in order to have something to eat and to help their teachers. The teachers are not paid and they don’t collect anything as salary from the parents of the children they taught.
Different types of  private Tsangaya schools have opened in Bauchi State. There is the day school where the children go to learn daily, their parents provide food for them to eat and then they return home.
Then there are also the Tsangaya boarding schools where students come from different parts of the country and their parents pay school fees to enable them stay and memorize the holy Qur’an and seek Western education. Teachers in these schools collect a token monthly salary of between N3,000 to N5,000.
Investigation by Daily Trust correspondent revealed that there are about 35,000 Qur’anic memorization schools with majority of them sharing the same kind of problems: lack of accommodation, feeding, and teaching and instructional materials.
Bauchi State Director General on Tsangaya Education, Sheikh Sidi Ali Dahir, said there are about one million Tsangaya and Islamiyya schools in Bauchi State, with more than half of them relying on begging to survive.
 Sheikh Dahir said  in a bid to address the problem of begging among the Tsangaya pupils, the state government has embarked on a multi-dimensional strategy which includes the establishment of modern Islamic colleges with facilities to train them in both Western and Islamic education and acquisition of skills, adding that government also provides succour to the teachers and pupils through provision of feeding, clothing, generator sets and motorcycles.
Ali said: “Some of the of 5000 Tsangaya Qur’anic schools in Bauchi State are currently benefitting from the N825 million Yuguda administration’s financial assistance as monthly allowance spanning over a period of 33 months. Out of the amount, the sum of N25 million is distributed monthly to the beneficiaries of the programme who comprise of chief Imams or Malams of the Tsangaya schools. They collect N5000 each monthly, we started since August 2012 up to April, 2015 and government released monthly allowances of N400,000 for those saddled with the responsibility of disbursing the cash assistance to the Malams and Imams across the 20 local government areas of the state.”
The present administration led by Governor Isa Yuguda has since its inception come up with several programmes aimed at revamping Islamic education which includes the renovation and construction of Tsangaya schools as well as payment of salaries to Qur’anic teachers and Imams across the state.
The DG advised Tsangaya teachers to restrict the number of the almajirai [pupils] they admit in their schools so that they can be controlled and disciplined thereby preventing the children from begging or unnecessarily roving on the streets.
He also said government intends to provide agricultural support for Islamic teachers to enable them help with the feeding of the large number of almajirai under their care.
Further expatiating on government’s intervention in Tsangaya schools, The Desk Officer in charge of Tsangaya Islamiyya Schools at the State Universal Basic Education Board, Abdulaziz Baba Saibo said the intervention came through five government agencies, including the National Implementation Committee on Almajiri, former Education Trust Fund, Universal Basic Education Commission, Bauchi State Government and some international development partners.
Baba Saibo said government constructs and expands classrooms for Tsangaya school teachers that agree to include Western education in their teaching in the 20 local government areas of the state.
Recently Bauchi State Governor Malam Isa Yuguda commissioned a new model office built by the state government to look into the problems of Tsangaya education in the state under the Director General of Tsangaya Education office. The office which was built at the premises of headquarters of Sheikh Dahiru Usman Bauchi Foundation is equipped with training facilities like computer centre, conference hall, and classrooms.
Governor Isa Yuguda stated that the state government will collaborate with the federal government for the construction of additional Tsangaya schools in the state and advised religious leaders to continue to pray for peace and stability in the state and the country at large..
The Commissioner of Education Alhaji Ibrahim Mohammed Aminu appealed to stakeholders to contribute their quota to compliment government’s huge investment in the education sector and advised parents to ensue the proper upbringing of their children to guarantee their future.
An educationist Mohammed Jibril Sogiji said if government wants the project to be a success an ideal and realistic curriculum should be developed.
He said: “There are many models that could be adopted. But whatever model we adopt will not succeed  if there is no political will and sincerity of purpose from the authorities. For our Qur’anic schools to be in line with our heart’s desire, we need sincerity of purpose, sacrifice, commitment, honesty and consistency. Because the beauty of such schools needs to be sustained especially the  idea of allowing intelligent young kids to complete the memorization of the Qur’an and its basic sciences by heart.”