Comprehensive Solution to the Almajiri phenomena
Hadiza Wada, DBA …May 21, 2011
The Optimist
Voice’s interview with Shuaib Salisu Aliyu, a Senior Education Research Manager at
Arewa House Kaduna reveals that the centuries old non-profit Quranic educational
system practiced in Northern Nigeria, commonly known as the almajiri system, may
seem like a simple phenomenon to unravel, but when faced with the task of
understanding and finding the best and most effective way of dealing with it, is
when one finds that it is not that simple.
As simple a question as where do the kids [almajirai] really come from,
requires intense scrutiny and fact finding.
No concrete source or avenue has been identified as the way that
Almajiranci begins or emanates.
Questions that still linger include who convinces the parents, and how the
convincing gets done in order to push them to decide to send their young
children as early as between five and seven years of age off to a strange city
to seek Qur’anic knowledge. Who
decides where the child is supposed to go, which city and to which scholar
[Malam]. What is the most common of
all basis or justification of that underlying decision?
Presently, the
Arewa House Senior Educational Researcher sees the persistence of the menace as
a failure of regional state governments to intervene and alleviate it. First of all, the almajiri system of
education has not been recognized by any formal system within the governmental
structure from local government level up to federal level. For that reason no arrangement has
been made to allow them avenues of benefiting from their chosen system, or else
find a way to absorb such people into the economy at the local, state and
national level.
People need to
understand that all members of any society have a right to a choice of any way
of life, as long as it conforms to the local norms and values of their society. It is left to the authorities charged
with general administration of the local community to find and make available
avenues of making all members of their society productive contributors to the
overall economic, social, and political dimensions.
Formalization of
the almajiri system of education, means that the government shows it cares what
happens in the lives of every child under its watch, by for example looking into what is being taught
within that system and formalizing the curriculum, and expectations of each
graduate. The government could
infuse formal learning such as mathematics and modern reading and writing into
the system, without eradicating their initial goal and motivation towards older
religious scholarly learning.
There must also
be some legislation at regional level, whether in Jigawa, Katsina, Kano, Zamfara
etc.; where the rights of such children are protected as against that of any
adult that may exploit them. Those
providing such education need to be registered, and kids under their care also
have to be documented, in a way that whenever a child moves from one place to
another he has to come along with documentation that says he is leaving a
particular place and the specific place he is heading to next to acquire his
higher level knowledge. In short, what is being advocated here is establishing a
formal system of keeping track of such kids.
It is also the responsibility of local governments to design and execute
laws that actualizes opportunities for the absorption of such kids, youths as
well as graduating young adults into the system.
The Optimist
Voice learns that Arewa House has tried about seven or eight year ago in
collaboration with the Education Trust Fund ETF, to see how the government can
improve the learning system. It
worked on finding the most effective and convenient ways of achieving such
goals. There are fundamental causes, for example, that needed to be addressed in
order to bring on board the cooperation of parents such as (1) those parents
have a mind-set that there is something unislamic about sending their children
to the formal modern schools. They
believe the curricula are unislamic.
And they are adamant, providing most of the times credible proofs from what has
become of other people’s kids who have been educated in formal government
schools. To get around that, Arewa
House volunteers and its collaborating NGOs, advocated a third way. Why not come up with a sort of
fifty-fifty formula of learning both Islamic and modern education side by side.
So that by the time those kids graduate elementary schools they also acquire as
much knowledge about religious and moral duties and obligations as reading,
mathematics and the art. If at that stage they could memorize half the Quran and
speak intelligently about its contents, it should impress and be satisfactory to
the parents.
The result of
such program is parents see their child come back from school quoting the Quran
and reading it fluently, as well as speaking English and talking from modern
books fluently also. That keeps them
contended and makes them cooperate fully in the education of their children. It becomes a win-win situation for
both the family, community and the government.
This thinking
falls in line with the motive behind the establishment in 1981 of the
International Institute of Islamic Thoughts IIIT in the United States with
headquarters in Herndon Virginia.
Its motto displayed on its official web site aptly reads “Towards Islamization
of Knowledge and Reform of Islamic Thought.”
Today the institute has a branch in Kano, Nigeria. The institute is
tasked with bringing back original Islamic concepts that are presently in use in
many developed countries generating positive outcome, which have however been
turned secular and made nonconforming to Islamic principles making it harder for
Muslims to incorporate it into their lives or even simply recognize its Islamic
nature and usefulness. The task
taken on by the institute also includes teaching that knowledge in a way that is
recognizable and easily acceptable and adaptable to adherents of Islam.
The Almajiri
system, though generally a Northern Nigeria phenomena with centuries old roots,
has a parallel among the Muslims of Southern Nigeria where adherents of Islam
confront similar problems but without an established system of education to deal
with it. Just as the almajiri system
serves a purpose to parents seeking a way to deal with contemporary education
that is devoid of any moral and religious centeredness, they established another
system to address such requirements in the early formative years of a child. Because Southern Nigeria does not
have the almajiri system, this realization brought about the establishment and
spread of what is now generally known as the Islamiyya schools; but which
function along-side the modern schools.
These Islamiyya
schools you would generally find prominently in the South Western part of
Nigeria at first. After some
time, some Northern Nigerian parents who were looking for yet another
alternative to the conservative Almajiri system also adopted Islamiyya as an
alternative to the centuries old volunteer non-profit Quranic schools. The difference between the two
systems being that the Islamiyya school who mostly charge nominal fees,
resembles the contemporary school in infrastructure [buildings, furniture,
sitting arrangements etc.] so also the use of exercise books and text books,
some degree of formalization of curricula,
school uniform, etc.
The Islamiyya
system, a much more recent system compared to the almajiri system also comes
with its problems, as disclosed by Mr. Aliyu.
There is for example no standardized curriculum, or standardized books,
talk less of graduation requirements that span across all such schools, because
just as the almajiri system, the local, state and federal governments do not
interfere or intervene to set the standards and also make laws to protect the
immediate and future interests of the children.
Every Islamiyya will form its own graduation and teaching requirements [manhaj] and choose its books. Teacher training is also lacking.
“What we would
like to also see in Islamiyya school system,” says Salisu “is the government
coming in to standardize those sectors, requiring a minimum standard for the
qualification of teachers and the minimum graduation requirement complete with
the level of what should be taught by what age.”
The teachers of English and Mathematics for example can draw direct
intervention of government as to standardization and training etc. just as it
does in other modern and formal schools that it had recognized for years, so
children of the same age across the entire zonal area of representation get
uniform formalized required basic education.
Another option
advocated by Arewa House and other volunteer NGOs in the Quranic schools, is the
separation of students’ classes and class types based to age, degree, and depth
of education [knowledge]. Because the century old Amajiranci has been codified
and formalized for centuries, in interestingly sophisticated ways, actually more
sophisticated than the modern formal schools, such as the
kolo level, the
gardawa etc., it was not difficult to separate such classes and give them
different kind of educational skills thought to be necessary. For example, the beginner classes in
such systems are different and classified into e.g. those learning at the
babbaku level, the
farfaru level, the haddatu level.
Based on the
inherent divisions, it was advocated that such categories be distinctly
separated and formalized within the educational system. “You just cannot design a new system
and code of conduct for them, but adapt what they have in a way that is most
beneficent. For that, we advised
designing elementary system for the beginners who naturally are of the younger
age” says Aliyu.
For those that
have matured and graduated to gardawa level for example, the suggestion was to
bring them into a cluster, and introduce them to formal and modern reading and
writing using Latin letters most common in books utilized by most nations
including Nigeria and its modern schools.
In addition also, it was realized that they need vocational and technical
skills usually taught today only in formalized schools or training centers
inaccessible to the gardawa earlier because of entry requirements. Such training includes teaching them
carpentry, pottery, welding, dyeing etc. the same way taught outside of their
system. It was to be done without
tampering with their accepted, conservative educational system of learning.
After adequate
research using such ideas as basis, the researchers forwarded those three
alternative systems to the authorities.
Unfortunately they accepted only one of the options, which is the
alternative elementary school system.
Not long thereafter, the volunteer researchers launched the very system
the authorities approved with 17 pilots schools and centers in six states. It proved successful, and now the ETF
has expanded it to about 40. At the
first phase the nonprofit volunteers including Arewa House built the
infrastructure, and ETF furnished and funded the schools. It has been six years now, and ETF
recently announced that it will fund them, and it even constructed completely
those forty they recently added. For those new schools they funded everything
including the buildings. They plan to hand them over to the state governments
within which such schools are located later so as to run the schools thereafter.
Statistical Percentage of People Involved
Universal Basic
Education, UBE, has conducted a
survey in April of last year, 2010 and came up with about nine-ten million
people caught up in the almajiri system, which means that such children are not
attending any of the government established primary schools. That is why part of the conclusions
reached is that UBE has to come up with a way to absorb such kids into the
formal schools as well. It has now
developed a framework for implementing that goal and has named it the almajiri
development project. It has
appointed the initial coordinator to work on the project.
As to those who
advocate against upsetting the century old system which they sometimes advocate
as a probable saving grace for the moral and spiritual rectitude of the average
Nigerian who has hitherto been immersed in unabated corruption, and contaminated
his mental make-up and thinking process with the Western educational system that
has forcefully been made secular and therefore devoid of moral, ethical, and
spiritual aspects of life teachings [a domain of religion], Mallam Salisu Aliyu
agreed that there is no doubt that this system has survived actually in all West
African Sub region and even beyond.
But those voluntary NGOs are now in general agreement that; one of the major
problem with the Muslim world today is the ultra-conservative ways they have
held on to some elements of the system, without adapting such systems to other
aspect of life that continue to change over time.
Islam is not a static religion but one that strongly advocates through
its Holy Book (tadabbur) deep thinking and analysis of even its verses and
teachings, in order for each individual over time to find ways of applying such
principles to their everyday life as it evolves.
In the current global dynamic, we have to find ways of absorbing the teachings
of our religion into our lives in ways that are productive and also ways that
make the religion not only relevant but a living one; something that is actually
very unique in many ways to the principles of the religion itself.. Islamic knowledge is very
comprehensive encompassing the mundane and specialized life. It is not a narrow perspective
religion at all. The current crisis
of the Islamic world rests partially on the fact that Muslims across the globe
have literally allowed the secular life which has openly set aside religion away
from a great percentage of our daily life, to become the guiding force in
people’s life in so many ways. Secularism has overshadowed even the most simple
aspects of life such us when to be active and when to rest, what to do at
certain times and days and what to relegate to the background.
As we live now,
most of the time you find people, even so called scholars trying hard to come
out and defend vehemently some aspects of life or ideas that are actually
foreign and unconnected with their religious teachings. Such a person does not
have a proper grasp of Islamic concept but has probably been convinced or
monetarily induced by someone who has no interest in the religion or its
importance. He may come out
preaching concepts he tags Islamic to others without proper research. But at this time where information on
everything is available at anytime, anywhere, through the information
superhighway, there is no excuse.
The idea is to tamper with everything in positive ways including the almajiri
system. The Almajiri needs to know
everything or at least the basics about what other learn also in their schools
that will actually put him in a better and more advantageous position to discuss
and compete favorably with everyone anywhere.
At present the successfully graduated Almajiri is a living and walking
Quranic knowledge who has memorized all its verse and can quote forward
backwards and on any aspect of life.
But he is disconnected with other aspects of life which narrows his analytical
scope putting him at a disadvantage when it comes to other aspects of life
around him.
Reality and Challenges of the “Tsangaya” System
Mrs. Hadiza
Bulama presently works as a Director for a private consultancy firm called
Muhandisun Consultancy, having worked previously as a Senior Official for the
National Directory for Employment, NDE at Abuja.
She explains that skills acquisition for almajiri is a difficult subject
matter in itself. She provided an insider view of some of the challenges of the
Tsangaya system. Over the years
there has been many research and specific case studies conducted, but the
almajiri issue has been a very difficult one. People prefer viewing those within
the system of almajiri at arm length just commenting at them as a menace of
sorts. But in reality the issue
should be far from the stereotypical labeling assigned them. Commendable is
finding and looking for ways to change the issue to a win-win one for all
stakeholders.
One solution is
skill acquisition which may provide ways of allowing children and their teacher
settle in once place, in a way that you can also find meaningful ways of
impacting their lives in other aspects as well aside from just the skill
acquisition. This is because there
are soft skills and technical skills that you can impart, in formal structures
over time. The soft skills are
usually yet to be taught.
Whatever skills
you plan to give such kids, you have to think deeply into for example, their
degree of understanding and adaptation of the skill. Then you also look at the market
aspect of it. Is there adequate
market to provide for a career using that skill.
Also look at the legal aspect, because the ILO (International Labor
Organization) has set a standard age group that can legally work what number of
hours doing what kind of labor.
If for example the kids are below 18, their products are considered child
labor, and the market for the product internationally is blocked. For that reason, a small child
of say about ten years of age who is trying to earn a living to support himself
while acquiring the non-profit almajiri education can for example engage in
barbing, which is a service that the public, i.e. people themselves can decide
whether they could use the service and benefit the boy in return. Skills like soap making, liquid
detergent, artistic painting, packaging farm products for farmers locally etc.
Even at
Tsangaya, you have to work with them in such a way that the skill you teach are
adaptable to their lives without overturning or coming in between their goals of
Quranic learning. Because if it does
not allow for them to continue unhindered their quest for Quranic knowledge
acquisition, not only are the scholars not going to cooperate with you, the
kid’s parents will also object. And the skills have to be sustainable, i.e.
continue to help them generate the income necessary to help them sustain
themselves away from having to go on the street begging for food and other
essentials for survival. If a scholar and his pupils for example are into making
local detergents, they could trade with like Tsangaya next door who locally
produce something else e.g. locally woven clothes, shoes, cloth dye etc. Because
there are difficulties encountered where the arrangement made for Tsangaya are
not sustainable and you find their local teachers sending them out once again on
the street after school to beg for food to feed themselves, we have tried to
first study and find ways of introducing only sustainable skills and
establishments within the Tsangaya.
And I dare say
also, while digressing a little, that not even the Almajiri, our local
communities have to take serious the issue of paying out of pocket to allow
their young children learn some basic entrepreneurial skills such as carpentry,
welding, soap making, thread weaving and local clothes making, fine arts for
decorating homes, and utensil making.
These are skills that some children from other sectors of the country and
across the world people take the time to teach their children early in life, in
conjunction with the formal schools, so the children will learn as they grow to
fend for themselves in any eventuality they may find themselves. It is very, very, important, that our
communities make that a priority. No
community across the world would fold their arm and rely on formal education
alone to teach their children all basic survival skills. Our cultural system did not encourage
it, and as such lags behind in that.
Finally,
Tsangaya has provided very important solutions by providing secure environment
for the kids, for example. They provide refuge from having those kids trying to
fend for themselves on the streets, which consequently protects not only their
life, but also protects them from picking up negative habits on the street. There is also some code of conduct
that was established for the Tsangaya which is positive. My observation however is, we need to
find out sooner rather than later, how to integrate the graduating children,
youths and adults into the society after completing their education; or else,
how to design avenues of absorbing them into higher institutes of learning.
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