Bashir Ahmad, former Special Assistant on Digital Communications to former President, Muhammadu Buhari, has argued that Almajiri children should not be regarded as out-of-school kids. 

Ahmad shared this in a tweet on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, affirming the sentiment of the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Saidu on the matter. 

Almajiri is an Hausa word which means a group of people or children who leave their homes in search of Quranic knowledge. However, the term has been colloquially expanded to refer to any young person who begs on the streets and does not attend secular school.

In his submission, Bashir called for the integration of the Almajiri education system into the national educational framework.

The ex-presidential aide argued that the Federal Government’s recognition of the Almajiri set up as a system of education could make the north become the region with the least number of out-of-school children in the country.

“The Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Saidu, is absolutely correct that Almajiri children should not be classified as out-of-school children, as the Almajiri is a system of Islamic education. However, I believe the best way to address this is by integrating the Almajiri education system into our national educational framework or ensuring it is officially recognized by the system.

“Once this is achieved, the northern states could become those with the lowest numbers of out-of-school children, as it is rare to find a child in the north who does not attend either formal or Islamic school,” he said.

He added that Almajiri children are visible on the streets primarily because the current system does not adequately provide for their needs. 

“If Almajiri schools were given treatment in terms of support and structure similar to that of boarding schools, the narrative would change entirely,” he said.