No fewer than.40 almajiri children have graduated from the Almajiri Education Reforms and Skills Acquisition Training Project initiated by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation (SABMF) in collaboration with the MacArthur Foundation.
Director of Finance of SABMF, Haruna Muhammad Jumare while speaking during the graduation ceremony in Kaduna described the event as a major milestone as part of measures to reform the almajiri education system in Northern Nigeria.
“This program embodies the vision of the late Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, who believed in the power of education and skills development to transform lives,” he said.
He commended the graduates for their dedication and perseverance, urging them to use their newly acquired skills to become self-reliant and contribute positively to society.
In his remarks earlier, the representative of the Kaduna State Commissioner for Education Malam Abbas Shehu, who is the deputy director of Planning in the ministry, commended MacArthur and SABMF for their efforts in engaging children through vocational and formal education.
He disclosed that the Kaduna State government is planning to establish Tsangaya schools in four local government areas of the state to integrate both Islamic and Western education while appealing on Islamic clerics to spread awareness about the initiative, noting that it would also provide employment opportunities for teachers.
The chairman of the occasion, Alhaji Ibrahim Lawal Kankia, who represented the Board of Trustees of the Foundation, said 40 children had been trained in various skills, with five of them enrolled in primary school.
“We will select 20 of them to further their education at Kaduna Polytechnic, while efforts will be made to empower the remaining beneficiaries,” he stressed while emphasising the need for continuous support to prevent them from returning to the streets.
On his part, the director general of the SABMF, Engr. Abubakar Gambo Umar, disclosed that the beneficiaries were trained in tailoring, cloth designing, electrical work, and cap sewing.
He called for more support to expand the programme, noting that the graduates would eventually train others.
Also speaking, the director of the MacArthur Foundation, Kole Shettima, urged well-meaning northerners to support the initiative, stressing that collective effort was necessary for the transformation of the region.
