Commission To Take 10m Children Off Street

National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-school Children has announced plans to take 10 million children off the streets within four years.

This was announced over the weekend in an interview with the BBC Hausa service by the executive secretary of the commission, Sha’ban Ibrahim Sharadah, adding that 2.5 million are going to be targeted annually for four years.

He explained that there are others who are out of school that are going to benefit from the government’s gesture that include those that are out of school because of their trades and other engagement.

The executive secretary also said that the children will be taught both primary and junior secondary studies within a short period and be certified.

He said if nothing is done to that effect within the coming three years, the out of school children can constitute serious public nuisance, not only to the public, but to themselves as well.

“UNESCO has issued some indices that there are 20 million out of school children roaming the streets. However, there are other statistics saying they are 10.2 million children that are out of school.

“It is on us as a commission to ensure that we have the right statistics, especially that of the Almajiris. This will help us a lot in modernizing the system so that they can learn both verbal and quantitative aptitude.

“Most importantly, they are going to learn skills that will sustain them and make them compete in the market as well.

“If they are left unattended for the next three years they can pose a threat to their lives and the society in general.

“There is a benchmark we have put in place to this effect, we are going to establish centres on an annual basis under which we shall register up to 25,000 Tsangaya schools (Almajiri schools). 100 students will be enrolled in each of the schools which will give a total of 2.5 million annually which will make 10 million in four years.

“We shall ensure that all out of school children as well as the Almajiris will learn trades and be certified,” he stated.