Declare Emergency In Education, BUK Alumni Tell FG

The Bayero University, Kano Alumni Association on Thursday expressed concern over the state of education in the country and called on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in the sector.

According to the association, the declaration will compel every Nigerian child to attend primary and secondary school in line with global trends.

The association’s President, Muhammad Usman, stated this in an interview with journalists ahead of its fund-raising dinner scheduled for Saturday in Abuja.

He also frowned on the high number of the children out of school in the Northern part of the country.

Usman said, “Recent statistics have shown that 11 million children are not in school. The trend is increasing because out of this figure, 90 per cent of them come from the north. It is our duty to draw the attention of policy makers and the National Assembly to ensure the implementation of UNESCO policy.

“Out-of-school cases are responsible for the insurgency and Boko Haram. These cosmetic Almajiri schools will not help matters. There is the need to declare a state of emergency in education and all children of school age compelled to go to school.

The government must ensure that children go to primary and secondary school. It happened in other countries and Nigeria should not be an exception. “We are worried by this Almajiri menace.

In fact, the 19 northern states governors should do something to reduce the trend. We hope to reach the governors. It is the responsibility of every one of us to ensure that the future is better than our past.”

Our correspondent recalls that Almajiri system of education is the Federal Government’s way of intervening in the menace of street begging by school-age children.

The Federal Government had claimed that it had built Almajiri schools across northern states with the aim of providing integrated education that would comprise basic western education alongside Islamic education as a means of reducing the level of illiteracy in the region.

Under the Almajiri arrangement, the Federal Government caters for about 60 per cent, while the states handle the remaining 40 per cent. The latter also recruit teachers and provide the running cost and logistics in the schools.(Punch)