The Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III, yesterday commissioned a modern Almajiri school known as ‘Gombe Integrated Qur’anic Education Centre’ built by Governor Inuwa Yahaya.
The school founded by a renowned qur’anic teacher, Gwani Sani at Yelenguruza community in the state capital has produced over 1, 000 qur’anic reciters and memorisers in the past years in the state and beyond.
Speaking at the event, Governor Inuwa said the centre was part of measures to address problems associated with the almajiri system of Islamic education.
According to him, in the center, pupils would be taught qur’anic recitation, memorisation as well as the basics of western education in line with the universal basic education goals.
He said they would also be taught skills acquisition and urged other states to replicate the project in order to enable the almajiri pupils acquire formal education in their ‘tsangaya’ schools and centres.
The governor noted that there were over 500, 000 children in the state who do not go to formal school, adding that the number increases due to influx of immigrants from other states.
He said in the past, the federal government built similar modern tsangaya schools in parts of the nation but they did not work because they were sited on the outskirts of towns which made them non-functional.
In his remarks, the Sultan who commissioned the school lauded the governor for the project, saying it would transform almajiri education in the state.
He said it was imperative for all the citizens to have access to at least basic formal education in addition to Islamic knowledge, noting that such integrated schools could provide almajiris the opportunity to acquire the basics of modern education.
There was tragedy at the commissioning as a boy was electrocuted to death.
Our correspondent reports that the boy alongside other onlookers had climbed a water tank close to electric cables at the venue to watch the event.
As Governor Inuwa was making his speech, the boy fell on the electric cables and got stuck and electrocuted.
The incident caused pandemonium as security agents and a religious first aid group strove to rescue him and other onlookers.
While the others were lucky to come down alive, the rescuers only succeeded in removing the body of the boy.
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