By Bashir Hassan Abubakar
The Sheikh Dahiru Usman Bauchi Foundation has urged the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education to include genuine grassroots stakeholders in the planning and implementation of its programmes.
In a statement signed by its Director of Media and Publicity, Mallam Ahmad Muhammad, the Foundation said sustainable reforms in the Almajiri and out-of-school children sector would only succeed if they are linked to trusted community-based institutions with direct experience within the Tsangaya system.
The Foundation expressed concern that some activities of the Commission often exclude institutions and individuals with longstanding involvement in Almajiri education, while engaging people with little or no practical connection to the system.
According to the statement titled, “Sustainable Almajiri Reforms Require Community-Rooted Implementation Structures,” reforms disconnected from existing community realities may struggle to achieve acceptance, continuity, and effective implementation at the grassroots level.
It stressed that institutions already embedded within the system possess operational structures, parental trust, and decades of practical experience needed for lasting impact.
The Foundation stated that its network of over 800 Tsangaya institutions and affiliated schools currently serves more than 300,000 students across Nigeria, providing integrated models that combine Qur’anic and formal education with moral and social development.
It disclosed that its Chairman, Khalifa Sayyadi Ibrahim Sheikh Dahiru Usman Bauchi, had formally communicated these concerns to the Commission, with copies sent to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Security Adviser, emphasizing that meaningful collaboration with trusted grassroots structures remains critical to addressing the Almajiri and out-of-school children challenge in a sustainable manner
