From Khalid Idris Doya, Bauchi
The Sheikh Dahiru Usman Bauchi Foundation has called on the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education (NCAOOSCE) to include genuine and experienced stakeholders in all programmes and implementation strategies aimed at reforming the Almajiri education system in Nigeria.
In a statement signed by the foundation’s director of media and publicity, Mallam Ahmad Muhammad, and made available to journalists in Bauchi on Tuesday, the Foundation stressed that the long-term success of efforts targeting Almajiri and out-of-school children education depends not only on policy formulation, but also on strong collaboration with trusted grassroots institutions already operating within the affected communities.
The statement expressed concern over what it described as the exclusion of critical stakeholders with practical knowledge and direct involvement in the Almajiri system, alleging that individuals with little or no connection to the Tsangaya educational structure are often engaged in the Commission’s activities.
According to the statement titled, “Sustainable Almajiri Reforms Require Community-Rooted Implementation Structures,” the intention was not to apportion blame, but to draw the attention of the Commission to the need for broader and more inclusive engagement in order to achieve meaningful results.
The Foundation noted that the Almajiri and out-of-school children crisis remains a deeply social and community-based challenge that goes beyond administrative policies alone.
It maintained that implementation, acceptance, continuity, and sustainability of reforms can only succeed when institutions with grassroots legitimacy and direct operational experience are actively involved.
The statement further explained that although recent national engagements on Almajiri and out-of-school children reforms have brought together political, administrative, developmental, and community actors, there is still a growing need for stronger institutional inclusion of longstanding grassroots educational structures directly operating within the Almajiri and Tsangaya ecosystem.
The Foundation warned that reform efforts may face implementation setbacks where strategic frameworks are developed without adequate consultation with institutions that possess longstanding operational presence, established community trust, and practical experience within affected communities.
It added that decades of engagement within the Tsangaya, Almajiri, and broader out-of-school children ecosystem across Northern Nigeria have shown that reforms disconnected from existing community realities often struggle with long-term acceptance and implementation at the grassroots level.
According to the Foundation, institutions already embedded within the system possess operational structures, parental trust, community confidence, and implementation experience developed over several decades of direct engagement.
“With an extensive network of over 800 Tsangaya institutions and affiliated schools currently serving more than 300,000 students across the country, practical and community-rooted educational models remain critical to addressing both the Almajiri phenomenon and the wider out-of-school children challenge in a sustainable manner,” the statement said.
The Foundation also emphasised the importance of integrated educational approaches capable of combining Qur’anic education, formal learning, moral development, and social stability within a single framework, noting that such models continue to provide socially accepted alternatives within affected communities.
Mallam Ahmad Muhammad disclosed that the concerns were formally conveyed by the Chairman of the Foundation, Khalifa Sayyadi Ibrahim Sheikh Dahiru Usman Bauchi, in a letter sent to the Commission and copied to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Security Adviser.
The Foundation reiterated its support for the Commission’s ongoing efforts while stressing the need for deeper institutional collaboration with longstanding community-based educational structures.
“From our standpoint as an institution that has remained directly engaged within the realities of the Almajiri and Tsangaya ecosystem for decades, we believe the broader national conversation must now move beyond recognition of the challenge alone toward building stronger implementation relationships with trusted grassroots structures already operating within the sector,” the statement added.
It maintained that any reform framework aimed at succeeding within the sector must recognise institutions already accepted by the people and actively working within the system.
“The realities surrounding the Almajiri and Tsangaya ecosystem cannot be effectively addressed in isolation from the communities, structures, and longstanding institutions that have continued to operate directly within that reality for decades,” the Foundation stated.
The Foundation concluded that stronger alignment between national reform initiatives and trusted grassroots structures would significantly improve implementation, continuity, acceptance, and long-term sustainability of reforms within the sector.
“As conversations surrounding Almajiri and out-of-school children reforms continue nationally, meaningful institutional inclusion, practical engagement, and community-rooted collaboration will remain essential to achieving lasting impact,” the statement said.
