The Nasarawa State Governor, Engineer Abdullahi Sule has directed Tsangaya Islamic teachers to submit modalities on how government can intervene in a bid to reduce the prevalence of street begging among Tsangaya school children.
The Governor gave the directive while hosting a delegation from the state chapter of the Qur’anic Teachers Association of Nigeria who paid him a courtesy call.
He urged them to allow the Almajiri children to acquire vocational skills while they learn the Holy Quran.
According to the governor, “Street begging exposes children to hazards, I urge you to allow the Almajiri to acquire vocational skills while also learning the Quran. No responsible Muslim will seek for the abolishing of the Tsangaya school system, but there is need to intervene in order to curb street begging mostly associated with Almajiri”
He disclosed further that aside the Almajiri school in Shabu, his administration is willing to build similar school in the state with a view to integrating the Almajiri into the formal school system.
Governor Sule decried the situation where some parents fail to take care of their children, only to dump them at the Tsangaya school without any means of livelihood, thereby forcing the children into street begging.
Leader of the delegation, Gwani Abdullahi Aliyu, earlier in his opening remarks, said members of the association were at the Government House to inform him of their resolve to abide by the decision taken by the Northern Governors Forum, as well as the Federal Government in order to curb street begging.