…Says Jonathan’s N15bn Almajiri schools initiative ineffective
The Federal Government has accused northern governors of destroying primary and nomadic education with their poor attitudes in the management of the sector.
The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, made the allegation during the Ministerial Media Briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday.
Recall that the federal government established the National Commission for Nomadic Education in 1989 to give nomads unfettered access to basic education. The succeeding Nomadic Education Programme similarly had the objective of providing and widening access to quality basic education for nomads in Nigeria, “boosting literacy and equipping them with skills and competencies to enhance their well-being and participation in the nation-building process”.
Responding to a question on the poor handling of nomadic education in the country, he affirmed that it has suffered the same fate as primary education.
The Minister also noted that the conception of the N15 billion Almajiri School Initiative by the President Goodluck Jonathan administration was defective but is now being incorporated into the education system. About 165 schools were constructed under the initiative meant to provide Western and Islamic education and tackle the problem of out-of-school children in the North.
Earlier, in his presentation, Adamu disclosed that the Federal Government has so far identified 70 illegal universities and 125 Colleges of Education. According to him, despite the efforts of the present government to ensure unfettered access to university education, the challenges posed by illegal universities still persist.
He added: “As I speak, the NUC has identified approximately 70 illegal universities in the country. We will not rest on our oars in cracking down on illegal universities in the country. The challenges of illegal Colleges of Education are as profound as that of illegal universities. We have also identified an alarming number of illegal Colleges of Education, totalling 125″.
“The National Commission for Colleges of Education has written to their proprietors to shut down within a specific time frame, after which the appropriate measures will be applied”, he stated.
