The Adamawa State Government has said the multi-million Almajiri schools established by former President Goodluck Jonathan have yet to become operational because they are too expensive to run.

This was made known in Yola, the state capital, by the Chairman of the Adamawa State Universal Education Board, Dr. Mohammed Toungo, while appraising the success of the educational initiative of the American University of Nigeria, targeting almajiri children between the ages of six and 17 years.

Corroborating Toungo, the Permanent Secretary, Adamawa State Ministry of Education, Alhaji Mahmud Abubakar, also explained that the state government was finding it difficult to put the almajiri schools into use because of financial constraints.

Toungo spoke at an event organised by the Technology Enhanced Learning for All project to commemorate the World Literacy Day on Wednesday.

The USAID-funded initiative, which utilizes radio and information technology to reach vulnerable children, has helped improved the literacy and numeracy skills of over 22,000 almajiri.

Toungo who was represented by the ADSUBEB’s Director of Quality Assurance, Saidu Komsari, said the board was ready to key into the TELA project run by the American University in Yola.

He added that the AUN had played a complimentary role of solving a fraction of the problem because there were over half a million out of school children in the state which the seven model integrated islamiya schools established by the Federal Government since 2012 had yet to redress.

He said, “We appreciate the AUN for taking up the almajiri problem. But as it is right now, we have over half a million of these children roaming the streets. If you take 22,000 out of it; how many per cent is it?”

According to him, the state is bothered by the number of out-of-school children and the non-operation of the school as a result of funding gaps and the government’s inability to recruit the personnel needed for its take-off because such schools required specialised teachers.

He noted that the government spent not less than N100 million in constructing each of the seven schools with a combined enrolment for only 420 almajiri but which also had been lying fallow since its establishment in 2012.

“But since 2012 up till now they have not commenced because the recruitment of the specialised teachers to the schools had not been done because of the expensive nature of the teachers.

“The feeding of the almajiri is also a big problem. I think the enrollment we intended was only 420 and the American University educated 22,000 in one year. It was expensive, capital intensive and the beneficiaries were very few. So they (schools) are there lying waste.

“We have asked the USAID to give us money so that we can start the schools but they refused us except we come with a performance indicator”

The Federal Government had under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan in its determination to modernise the almajiri system of Islamic education built and commissioned some model schools across the North, some of which were also built in Adamawa State.

The Federal Government at the time devoted N15bn to realise its objective of integrating over 10 million almajiris into the formal educational school system.

nduchucks:
www.nairaland.com/attachments/679290_Alh_GEJ_jpg189e4f18c98a779c467ada63b1c039ce

We had no idea that Alhaji GEJ used Almajiri schools to raise funds for his reelection campaign. Karma will catch up sooner or later.

Jengem:
Why do northern leaders hate anything education for their people

But all their children are in elite schools abroad

If it is pilgrimmage now, or mass wedding or funeral, they will find the money

It seems they want to subjucate their people in poverty to keep them brainwashed with evil ideologies

“We have asked the USAID to give us money so that we can start the schools but they refused us except we come with a performance indicator”

Jengem:
Why do northern leaders hate anything education for their people

But all their children are in elite schools abroad

If it is pilgrimmage now, or mass wedding or funeral, they will find the money

It seems they want to subjucate their people in poverty to keep them brainwashed with evil ideologies

cckris:


It's easy to CONTROL uneducated people.

eleojo23:
I tire for this people o. They just don't want education for their people.
If it is mass wedding now, they will have money for it.

GMBuhari:
Jonathan really tried for this country






He built schools that no one is attending

Comment written at 1 57, FTC , i wan see the bad belle wey dey always put my comments for 10th line

a2personal2013:
Sometimes I wonder if our politicians speak in public about issues. This is serious. I weep for our present leaders. What kind of sophistication is this man complaining about ? Or could this be because the school will cater for poor Almajiris?

Sir please find a solution to absorb these kids they are the supposed leaders of tomorrow. I am pretty sure the funds needed to run this school is way less than your children's school fees abroad. Let them enjoy quality education so that we can evert complications in the future

DeKen:
They keep saying he didn't do anything but they keep speaking about the things he did by mistake.
He built the ultra-modern schools to give the almajaris qualitative education and take them off the streets but to run it, a gov says it's too expensive and asks for aid from USAID. But to come up with a performance indicator is too hard to do. Soon Jonathan will be blamed for the poverty of the North that has produced more leaders than any other region.

nduchucks:
www.nairaland.com/attachments/679290_Alh_GEJ_jpg189e4f18c98a779c467ada63b1c039ce

We had no idea that Alhaji GEJ used Almajiri schools to raise funds for his reelection campaign. Karma will catch up sooner or later.

cckris:


Those SCHOOLS are on ground. Allow the children be EDUCATED, like Buhari's children.

Jengem:
Why do northern leaders hate anything education for their people

But all their children are in elite schools abroad

If it is pilgrimmage now, or mass wedding or funeral, they will find the money

It seems they want to subjucate their people in poverty to keep them brainwashed with evil ideologies

GMBuhari:
doesn't change the fact that those schools are not open to students

cckris:

Governors should open those schools. If they were in the South, they would be open even if half-completed.

Standing5:
The cassava bread plan which happens to be the second diversification project of GEJ admin is just as maintainable as the almajiri schools.

eleojo23:


What is this one saying?

greatgod2012:




You dey mind them

They have their ulterior motives for refusing to open the schools. Their ulterior motive is that they don't want their subjects liberated through education so that they won't be challenged by them. Good education liberates, they prefers their subjects shouting "ranka dede" to them each time the subjects are given peanuts instead of them to be educated and be like their children.

God dey sha!

In Benue State, only one Almajiri school was built in Katsina-Ala local government area, and because of the ongoing strike embarked upon by primary school teachers, the school is currently not operational. Benue State Universal Basic Education Board chairman, Mr. Anum Iho, said only one Almajiri school exist in the state, and that it is run by the state government. He said the federal government only constructed the building, while the staff members and general operations are the responsibility of the state government.

The Almajiri school in Kaduna State was established in 2010 and named Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Almajirai Bilingual Model Boarding School in Zaria. It has a population of 186 pupils and 13 academic staff members. The school headmaster, Malam Maisaratu Jibril, disclosed that the school gets its pupils from the state government through the education secretaries at the local government councils.
In Benue State, only one Almajiri school was built in Katsina-Ala local government area, and because of the ongoing strike embarked upon by primary school teachers, the school is currently not operational. Benue State Universal Basic Education Board chairman, Mr. Anum Iho, said only one Almajiri school exist in the state, and that it is run by the state government. He said the federal government only constructed the building, while the staff members and general operations are the responsibility of the state government.
The principal, Alhaji Isa Usman Umar, said about 50 students have been enrolled into the school, as recommended by the federal government, adding that academic activities have fully commenced. He added that the students are presently living off campus, pending when everything would takeoff fully. He stated that admission was carried out by Taraba State Basic Education Board, adding that the school was mainly for male, while admission and learning are free of charge.
In Yobe State, the federal government has built five Almajiri/Tsangaya schools in six local government area of the state to solve the lingering problem of street beggars and destitute.