A member, representing Bodinga-Dange Shuni-Tureta federal constituency, Dr. Balarabe Kakale Shuni has set aside N200 million to empower Quranic schools in his constituency.
He said the programme would involve empowering both the students and their teachers to be self-reliant while pursuing their education.
Kakale, who co-sponsored the bill on the transformation of Almajiri system of education in the House of Representatives, said the system only needed to be modernized based on the peculiarities of every state.
According to him, most of the prominent businessmen, politicians and technocrats of Northern extraction were the products of the system.
In an interview shortly after distributing nine vehicles, 33 motorcycles, 60 sewing machines, 40 grinding machines among others to the first set of the beneficiaries, he said it was meant to discourage Almajirai from begging.
He added that he was targeting 1000 almajirai this year alone.
“We distributed four mini-van vehicles to the schools and 33 motorcycles to their teachers, which they can use to generate income,” he said
Kakale kicked against integration of almajiri system of education into western education because of differences in curriculum.
He said in a classical almajiri system, there was no begging as students were taught how to remain productive; how to fend for themselves in agriculture, in art and crafts and in businesses among others.
“But the system has been corrupted over the years and became synonymous to begging.
He said there were 15 million out of school children and 80 per cent of them were in the North.
Kakale added that if Nigeria could get these children into productive system it would be the foundation to lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty.
He advocated for laws that would put the responsibility on parents to take care of their wards.
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