Addressing the issue of out-of-school children in Nigeria, particularly in the North, requires a nuanced understanding of social, economic, and cultural factors that contribute to the problem. Nigeria’s northern region has historically faced significant challenges in providing universal access to education, leading to an alarming number of children out of school. However, a closer look reveals that this is not …

No fewer than 30 million Almajiri and 20 million out-of-school children are roaming about and in need of attention, a government official has said. The Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children’s Education (NCAOOSCE), Dr Muhammad Idris, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja. Speaking at the inauguration of an eight-man committee to reform the Almajiri education, …

It was former Military Governor of the now defunct Northern Region, General Hassan Usman Katsina (Ciroman Katsina) who described the social menace of begging and destitution in the North as a Hausa-Fulani community problem. Katsina, who was the first Chief of Staff of the Nigerian Army, said this during a media chart on an NTA network programme in February 1992, …

Federal and state governments have been urged to address the problems of out-of-school children through reforms and enrichment of the Almajiri system in Nigeria. Almajiri is an Islamic education practice in northern Nigeria. The call follows the alarming rise in the number of out-of-school children, which, according to a report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), …