Kebbi State Government says it is streamlining the Almajiri education in the state to conform with the formal education in the state.
The Commissioner of Religious Affairs, Muhamad Sani-Aliyu, disclosed this at a weekly ministerial briefing held in Birnin Kebbi on Monday.
Ministry of Religious Affairs, a new ministry created by the Kauran Gwandu administration to reduce moral decadence, youth waywardness, social vices, and crimes through moral education and counsel in liaison with relevant government agencies.
He identified “Almajiri Integrated Education” as a unit under the ministry saddled with the responsibility of regulating the conduct of Almajiri training, streamlining the concept of Almajiri education to improve on it.
“The unit is carrying out a demography of Islamiyya and Almajiri Schools to identify the age and number of pupils, their various origins, parents, and their living conditions for appropriate actions,” he said.
Sani-Aliyu explained that the ministry had created Zakkat, Preaching, and Hisbah Boards for effective and efficient operations, adding that Islam charged leaders with the responsibility of collecting Zakkat from the rich and distributing it to the poor, the needy, and other identified groups of persons.
He added that between May 2023 and to date, about 23,543 mentally related cases of patients received treatment and medications at the Zauro Psychiatric Medical Outreach.
Talking about the partnership, the commissioner said, the ministry had facilitated the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Kebbi State Government and Qatar Foundation, where over 200 locations had been identified for the construction of boreholes and other social amenities.
To cushion the effects of the present hardship being experienced, Sani-Aliyu said the state government under the ministry had intervened in different ramifications, ranging from pre-Ramadan, Ramadan, and post-Ramadan packages.
This according to him, includes the distribution of grains to the public by the office of Secretary to the State Government (SSG) and the State Ministry of Agriculture, Ramadan feeding at designated Mosque across the state “which is targeting 11,400 persons per day,” Vulnerable Groups Ramadan Intervention targeting 14,000 families and mid-Ramadan grains intervention amongst others.
