The Almajiri Integrated Model Schools (AIMS) were
commissioned by President Goodluck Jonathan in 2012
to move the huge number of school-age children
roaming the streets into education.
The objective was to bridge the gap between Islamic and
Western education in the region, according to Sheik
Shehu Ubaidullah, the principal of one of the schools in
Sokoto that this reporter visited.
Ubaidullah, who had previously been the principal of a
traditional Almajiri school for seven years, explains to
me that he embraced the integration of the conventional
Western school system and Islamic education as a
means to re-educate children in the region and convince
families in rural areas send their children to school.
At the Almajiri Model Boarding School in Gagi, Sokoto, I
saw the pupils – all 260 of them – partake in an early
morning and nightly Quranic recitation. In between, all
other subjects taught to students in conventional schools
are being taught as well. Students enjoy regular extra-
curricular activities, take classes in Social Studies, use a
science lab and are trained in vocational skills via a
regular monthly workshop held by the school
management.
It seems like one administration – the Jonathan one –
has finally found a solution to the seemingly endless
number of homeless children.
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