TheCable

Adamu Adamu, minister of education, says the Almajiri schools programme of former President Goodluck Jonathan failed because it was poorly implemented.

The minister spoke on Thursday at the ministerial briefing held at the state house, Abuja.

The former president had, in February, said he embarked on the programme to infuse the western education curriculum into the Islamic education system so as to make the pupils more employable and to curb insecurity.

The education minister however said the initiative was not properly run.

“I think the conception of Almajiri schools and how to run them were not properly done by the government we inherited. But I know right now they are being incorporated into our schools,” he said.

“As I told you, there are now about six million out-of-school children, probably some of them who are trooping here (Abuja), but certainly there should be government policy to stop the movement of Almajiri or Almajirai, as they’re called in Hausa. A provision should be made for instructing them wherever they are.”

According to the minister, some northern governors are “destroying” education at the primary school level.

“The problem we have in nomadic education is like the problem I had when I came with my journalistic exuberance into government. I believed an emergency will be declared,” he said.

“The way our primary schools are… and I would like to say this about governors, especially in the northern states. It is as if they are looking for power to destroy education at the primary school level. Except for a few.

“I don’t think there’s any governor who has any good story to say about primary education and nomadic education, the federal government is only making intervention.

“So unless we have full cooperation from the states, I think achieving the objectives of nomadic education will take a long time to come. I hope states will change their attitude.”