From Shehu Danjuma, Katsina
The Katsina State Government in collaboration with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has concluded arrangement to conduct census on out of school children and the Almajiri pupils in the state.
The Governor Aminu Masari stated this during an interview with the members of the correspondent chapel of the NUJ on Monday in Katsina.
“The idea behind the conducting of the census is to ascertain how many children are out of school and are roaming the streets in the state.
“The census will assist the state government and UBEC to make proper planning on the issue of foundation education in the state.
”The census will assist the state government to know the number of Almajiri children roaming the streets of Katsina state.
“It will also assist the government to know the number of Islamic scholars who keep the Almajiri children in the state.” he said.
Masari said that many of the Almajiri pupils are from neighboring countries and states, but the state government was ready to include them in its planning on education.
He said that education is the backbone of development in any society, hence the plan by the state government to send all school to primary schools to obtain both western and Islamic education.
The Governor called on parents and guidance to send their children and wards to schools to obtained knowledge that will assist the state and the nation to develop.
The Authority recalls that UNICEF had some years conducted a survey on school aged children that indicated 900,000 children are not attending school in Katsina state.
