The Nigerian Senate has urged the Federal Ministry of Education to intensify its sensitization and engagement of traditional and religious scholars on the plight of the Almajiris, and the need to enroll them into the universal basic education system.
This was contained in the report of its Committee on Education (Basic and Secondary) on the need to integrate Almajiri Education into the Modern System of Education in Nigeria.
Senator Akon Eyakenyi, the Vice Chairman of the committee, in her presentation, observed that “the Almajiris, who are predominant in the North, constitute the larger number of out of school children roaming the streets begging for alms and food in Nigeria, and therefore are covered by the intervention policy and programmes of the Federal Government through the Universal Basic Education Act, 2004.
“The implementation of the UBEC Act, 2004 requires maximum collaborations with the State Governments and indeed the domestication of the Act through the State Legislatures.”
Eyakenyi noted that Nigeria had obtained $611 million dollars from the World Bank Financed Programme – Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA), as a credit to specifically address the problem of Out of School Children.
