The Governing Council of Arabic and Tsangaya Education Board has been instructed by Governor Babagana Zulum to include vocational training in the 451 Qur’anic schools and 2,775 almajiri schools in Borno.
Mr Zulum issued the directive after receiving a report on Tsangaya schools, presented by the board’s chairman, Khalifa-Ali Abdulfathi. The governor also used the opportunity to reaffirm the state’s commitment to streamlining Borno’s official and informal education systems.
“The state government intends to streamline the informal and formal education system to qualify Sangaya schools products to get admitted into colleges and universities,” Mr Zulum stated. ”This will help to reduce the number of out-of-school children and Almajiri children roaming the streets in all parts of the state.”
According to Mr. Abdulfathi, the board recognized 451 Islamiya schools and registered 2,775 Tsangaya centres. The centres have 12,309 teachers and 224,068 pupils, of which 128,789 are day students and the remainder, 97,279, are boarding students.
The governor added that 162 of the Tsangaya owners were migrants, while 2,613 were native Borno people with permanent land.
“It’s encouraging that most proprietors are willing to accept numeracy/literacy lessons in their centres. In addition, many centres are eager to get skills acquisition and entrepreneurship programmes,” Mr Zulum explained. “Of the registered 2,755 Tsangaya centres, 1,683 qualify for full intervention, whereas 1,092 did not. However, those who did not qualify and have indicated a willingness to accept integration should be considered for support.”
