Residents of Kamfanin Zango village in the Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State were full of joy over the construction of a school for Almajirai and a borehole by the Embassy of Poland in Nigeria in partnership with a non-governmental organisation, Almajiri Child Right Initiative (ACRI).
Arewa Trust Weekly reports that the one block of three classrooms and a borehole were constructed to serve the community and ensure children no longer have to walk long distances to other communities to get educated.
Expressing happiness at the launching of the school, which also has a toilet facility, the Village Head of Kamfanin Zango, Ahmed Saleh, said the community hoped that the school would be expanded to accommodate more pupils adding that the community was blessed with a lot of children of school age.
“We want our children to be educated and we hope that the state government will also fence the school to provide security for the pupils and teachers,” he said.
The village head urged youths in the community to take charge of securing the school against vandals who may try to vandalise the facilities.
A mother, whose children were admitted in the school, Aisha Garba said she was very happy to see the primary school in the village, which meant that their children will not have to walk long distances to schools in other communities.
The acting Executive Director of the NGO, Mr. Joshua Arogunyo said the organisation had in 2020 partnered with the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) and the Kaduna State Government to reintegrate 65 almajirai into their families in the community.
He said most schools were located on the other side of the community, a situation, which required children to cross over a major highway to get to school. “This causes accidents that sometimes results in death; that is why we decided to build a primary school in the community to avoid these unfortunate occurrences,” he said.
The Polish Ambassador to Nigeria, Joanna Tarnawska, who was represented by Joshua Arogunyo, said almajirai should like all other children be given the chance to quality education. According to her, they should also be given the chance to learn skills that will improve their lives, alongside religious education that will enlighten their spiritual wellbeing. She also said her expectation was for the school to serve the community for many years.
Earlier, the Kaduna State Executive Chairman of SUBEB, Ahmed Tijjani said the board had provided furniture and posted teachers to the school. He appealed to leaders and members of the community to take ownership of the project.
