By Ayoni M. Agbabiaka
Federal Capital Territory universal Basic Education Board (FCT UBEB) has confirmed that it would ensure that the Gwagawalada School of Almajiri would be open to the teeming number of children wanting to learn both Islamic and Western education by next academic session.
The board stated this on Wednesday at a media briefing organised by the Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC) increasing citizens’ participation at UAC building, Central Area.
The representative of the Board at the event, Engr. Sidi-Aliyu Adamu, pointed out that there was the need to have a fence around the school.
He added that another challenge “is the access road to the area.”
He said: “We are discussing with the chairman to have road leading to the school; the computers and books are all ready and in a central store.
“We have the plan before the beginning of next academic session; we are going to start. And it is not true that the community is not being carried along in the project.
“If the community say they are not aware of the school. They are been economical with the truth. In fact, there were farmers on the land when we came to the place at first. Those that are within that area are aware.”
Speaking earlier, PPDC Procurement Monitoring Programme Coordinator, Nkemdilim Ilo, said the interactive session with the community members “where this school are situated is not to castigate the government, but to appraise the challenges, issues that came up with the community of the Almajiri school.”
She added that this interactive session is to find possible solutions to the problems for a useful conclusion.
According to her, PPDC had found out that the Almajiri school in Gwagwalada has been completed since 2014, but it’s not yet in use.
One of the community members, also one of the almajiri teachers in the area, Malam Musa Saheed, said they also would want to benefit from the school “as they can only speak and communicate in Arabic and Hausa languages,” but would want to learn English language from the school so as to better their lives.
He urged the government to provide the access road, water and commence the school for the benefit of “these almajiri students.”
