Haruna says if the programme is not commenced simultaneously in all affected states, it might be futile| By Yinka Ojo
A university don, Prof. Yusuf Haruna has issued a caveat on the Almajiri system of education recently introduced by the Federal Government.
Haruna, a Professor of Science Education at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi in an interview with DailyTimes at Gusau, said: “The goverenment should endeavour to kick-start the Almajiri Education programme in all the affected states at once.
“There is a great hope that the Almajiri Education will work as planned but the government needs to implement the programme in all the affected states at once. This is because these children go far to acquire the Islamic training.
“So, if you start the programme in Jigawa and most of the children from Jigawa are studying in Sokoto and Sokoto is yet to start the programme, most of the children from Jigawa, for whom the programme is meant, will not benefit from it. “
According to him, commencing it at the same time was important “for the programme to have a wider impact, although that does not mean it won’t have any impact now”.
On his evaluation of the Millenium Development Goal of Universal Basic Education, Haruna said “the indicators show that we are making progress but we are not making desirable progress in some key policy areas”.
With three years left for the attainment of the UBE goal, the Professor expressed optimism, saying “it is not impossible, if only the government can release enough money to fast-track the programme, we can meet the target by 2015.”
Haruna lamented government’s attitude to the education sector, saying “these politicians do not see investment in education as a worthy one. They believe that they have produced so many graduates who are unemployed and think there is no need for more. They don’t know that education makes a man less of a threat and burden to the society and himself.”
In a separate interview, Dr. E. Paiko of the Federal College of Education (Technical), Gusau said the harm in the Almajiri scheme would be in discontinuity of the programme.
“It is obvious this Almajiri education is like a panacea to the current spate of insecurity in this part of the country. But what happens when this government leaves and another comes in?” He asked.
“The programme is a welcome idea, as I hope it is aimed at a livelihood for the Almajiris. But Nigeria has been very good at policy formulation while implementation remains our major problem. It is not enough for the government to institute the programme, it must be committed to seeing it through.”
Haruna presented the lead paper at the opening ceremony of the 4th National Conference of the School of Science, Federal College of Education (Technical), Gusau on Thursday.
Yinka has taught at various levels of education. He has published a textbook on effective teaching practice and several academic papers in reputable journals. He is currently an education consultant. He loves writing, poetry, music and is presently working on a musical album billed to be released into the market soon.
