Almajirci Education System in Nigeria

In the almajiri system of education, male children are sent to far away places to acquire Islamic education at the tender ages of between four and nine years. This system of Islamic education has been in existence since the inception of Islam in Northern Nigeria in the 11th century AD. In the past, the system was successful because the host communities catered for all the needs of the almajirai and their Mallams. But today, the almajirai are left to their own devices to cater for themselves. This study was undertaken to find out factors which perpetuate the almajiri system of education in Zaria and environs in spite of the availability of Islamiyya primary schools which provide both modern and Islamic religious education. Zaria was divided into three clusters, namely: Zaria City, settlements within the city wall; settlements outside the city wall and villages. A total of 167 almajirai were selected for interview from four schools representing the three clusters. Of this, 164 almajirai provided adequate information for processing. All the 23 Mallams in the four schools were interviewed. Information about parents of the almajirai was collected (by proxy) through the pupils. However, 58 other fathers, 25 of whom had sent children to almajiri schools and 33 who had not, were purposively selected within the study area and interviewed. Indepth interview was also conducted with the Education Secretary of Zaria Local Government Authority on government policy and its involvement in the almajiri system of education. The Marxist framework was employed in this study. This is because to be able to identify the factors which perpetuate the almajiri system of education in Nigeria, the socio-economic, political and cultural structures of the people had to be looked into. Descriptive analysis such as simple percentages and comparisons were employed in data presentation. Chi-square analysis was used to determine levels of association and significance. The findings of the study revealed that several actors contribute to the perpetuation of the almajiri system of education. These are: the parents, the almajirai, the Mallams, the host communities and the government. It was found that muslim parents who had obtained only Quranic education themselves or had not been to any westerntype school cherished the almajiri system of education for their children. It was also found that family composition, such as polygyny, the extended family system and having more male children in a family, were strong determinants of sending children to almajiri schools. Generally, it was found that most of the parents of the almajirai belonged to the poor peasantry and other low-income earning strata. The fact that most of the almajirai were young, 91.9% being 14 years or younger, was strong evidence that they were sent to such schools before they reached the age of reasoning. The study revealed that they had been indoctrinated to accept the almajiri system of education. The Mallams were found to benefit from the size of the almajirai studying under them because a Mallam’s prestige was determined by how large his school is, because school size increased the likelihood of a Mallam being invited to perform spiritual services like naming ceremonies, burial, counseling and prayers for success in endeavors, all of which carried along with them, token gifts from patrons in the community. The Mallams also derived direct economic benefits from the almajirai through the taking of a part of what the latter obtained from begging and the performance of menial jobs. The host communities also enjoy the services of almajirai because they provided cheap and often free labour. It was also discovered that the government acquiesced in the almajiri system of education by not making much effort to reform, regulate or incorporate the system into the main stream educational system. All these helped to perpetuate the system. It is recommended that reforming the almajiri system of religious education should be a joint responsibility for all the stakeholders in the system, namely, the government, parents, mallams, muslim communities and other sympathizers. Strategies to be adopted should include financial assistance, introduction of vocational skills acquisition programmes and payment of salaries to the Mallams.

Almajiranci, Islamic-based system of education in Northern Nigeria involves boys as young as seven being sent off to study and memorise the Qur'an under the tutelage of a Malam. It is currently a topic of great debate in Nigerian society as researchers and the media have linked Almajiranci and Almajirai to everything from religious uprisings to Boko Haram and political unrests. Early indications from my phenomenological study of the products of Almajiranci have shown that the narratives employed above are contradictory to the narratives that the past Almajirai create and utilise for themselves. The critical and negative representations of Almajiranci are at odds with the ones they have of themselves. There is therefore a tension between the dominant narratives and the experiences of these young men, who see the value of Almajiranci and for whom the system has shaped their identities both as humans and as Muslims. This research aims to fill a gap by giving a voice to the people who are centrally involved in the construction, contestation and transformation of its meaning – the Almajirai themselves. The research holds a lot of relevance as it allows for engagement and collaboration across disciplines on the core issues of religion, education and identity. The misrepresentation of the Northern Nigerian Almajiri's identity and its broader political and social significance is at the heart of this research.

My name is Hadiza Kere Abdulrahman and I have a PhD in Educational Research and Development from the University of Lincoln in the United Kingdom. My thesis focused on the  Almajiranci system of Northern Nigeria,-an alternative Islamic system of education that sees young boys sent off to study the Qur'an and live with a teacher. The system has become increasingly subject to various dominant narratives, highly politicised and much maligned over the years because it often comes with many social problems-many of the boys are often at the mercy of the streets.