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No immediate plan to ban Almajiri system — Presidency

Published

5 years ago

June 22, 2019

The Presidency on Friday clarified the Federal Government ’ s position on the Almajiri system , saying that while proscribing it remained an ultimate goal , there was no immediate plan to ban the system .

The Presidency stated that in pursuing the objective of ensuring that every Nigerian child had compulsory basic education , the government would consult relevant authorities widely before taking a decision on whether to ban the Almajiri system or not .

In a statement by Buhari ’ s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity , Mr Garba Shehu, the Presidency noted that the reactions trailing the President ’ s speech at Thursday ’ s meeting of the National Economic Council were needless , as he had yet to pronounce a ban on the system .
It said , “ Indeed, the Federal government wants a situation where every child of primary school age is in school rather than begging on the streets during school hours . At the same time , we don’ t want to create panic or a backlash .

The National Security Adviser, Maj . – Gen. Babagana Monguno ( retd . ) , while briefing State House Correspondents after the NEC meeting on Thursday , had said that the government would eventually ban the system .

He had stated , “ The group I spoke about on illiteracy is the Almajeri . Ultimately , government will have to proscribe this Almajiri phenomenon .