Reps Block Move To Include Almajiri System In Basic Education

The House of Representatives at the plenary on Thursday unanimously rejected the prayer of a motion seeking to make the Federal Ministry of Education integrate the Almajiri education system into the Universal Basic Education programme.

The motion, which had 10 prayers, was entitled, ‘Need to Eradicate Child Destitution and Remove Beggars from Nigerian Streets through Provision of Standardised Education System and Improved Livelihood.’

It was sponsored by Mansur Soro, Ibrahim Umar, Saidu Abdullahi and Shehu Beji.

Though the motion was adopted, only nine of the prayers were granted. The exception was the second one that the House should “urge the Federal Ministry of Education to integrate the Almajiri education system into the Universal Basic Education programme.”

Other prayers granted by the lawmakers include to, “Declare child destitution and begging a national emergency and call on governments at all levels to ensure that children are provided with opportunities to access basic education as guaranteed by the United Nations Convention.

“Urge the affected states to comply with extant laws on basic education, especially the UBEC Act, by ensuring that all children between the ages of six and 16 are given free and compulsory education.”