Kebbi Religious Affairs Ministry begins demography of Almajiri schools as it treats over 23,000 psychiatric cases

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By El-Yakub Dabai, Birnin Kebbi

The Kebbi State Ministry of Religious Affairs has commenced the demography of Almajiri schools across the state to identify the parents, origin, location as well as number and age of the pupils with a view of providing lasting solution to the educational system.

The Commissioner, Architect Muhammad Sani Aliyu who stated this while addressing newsmen in Birnin Kebbi said the Ministry was working round the clock to fashion out modalities that would position Almajiri system of education side by side the secular education for the overall development of the society.

He stressed that the current state of Almajiri education where children below the age of five were sent to schools without means of sustainance, forcing them to roam streets and houses begging for means of survival was direct contrast to the teachings of Islam, a problem the Ministry was poised to correct.

Architect Aliyu said the Ministry would henceforth regulate the conduct of Almajiri training, streamline the concept of Almajiri education as well as improve Almajiri system of education in order to curb the vices associated with the deviants amongst the almajiris who usually end up in political thuggery and drug addiction.

The Commissioner also revealed that through the Zakat Department, the Ministry between May 2023 and March 2024 had treated 23,542 psychiatric related cases across the state free of charge in Neuro Psychiatric Programme Outreach of the State being carried out on Saturdays and Sundays.

The patuents, he said, were drawn from the 21 Local Government Areas of the State, neighboring states as well as Benin and Niger Republics and got treated at Zauro General Hospital, outskirts of Burning Kebbi with medical personnel drawn from Federal Neurosychiatric Hospital and Usumanu Danfodio Teaching Hospital all in Sokoto.

Architect Aliyu noted that although the Ministry was created by Governor Nadir Idris, it had within few months of existence resolved over one thousand domestic cases, participated in pre and mid Ramadan feeding of families, partnered with donour agencies that provided solar powered boreholes, mass weddings amongst many others programmes for the overall development of the state.