When former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration launched fashionable Tsangaya faculties in 2012 to take up out-of-school kids—generally referred to as ‘Almajirai’—throughout northern Nigeria, Alaramma Illiyasu was amongst conservative Islamic clerics who fiercely rejected the initiative.
They feared the initiative would undermine Islamic training within the area.
Years later, nonetheless, working from the Janbulo Tsangaya School within the Hadejia Local Government Area of Jigawa State, Mr Illiyasu modified his thoughts after seeing the federal mannequin college situated within the Birniwa Local Government Area.
“I decided to visit the school myself. I was impressed by the learning environment and accommodation facilities. The framework appealed to me because it guarantees that students learn both the Holy Qur’an and conventional subjects alongside modern skills,” Mr Illiyasu advised PREMIUM TIMES in October.
He started transferring massive numbers of his college students to the varsity.
“I frequently visit the students and find that they are settled and thriving in the new system. I am completely satisfied. In fact, I have requested additional slots to double my enrollment numbers for the upcoming academic session.”
Having run a standard Tsangaya college for roughly 30 years and drawn college students from neighbouring states, Mr Illiyasu’s perspective highlights a broader shift amongst conventional Tsangaya clerics within the state.
“When the federal government under President Jonathan initiated these modern schools, I initially resisted out of distrust,” he mirrored.
“However, seeing the committed leadership of Governor Umar Namadi, and the upgraded schools, I realised this initiative is genuine and was intended to uplift our children, not undermine our faith,” Mr Illiyasu stated.
The federal initiative
The state authorities is building on the inspiration offered by the federal initiative.
Under the unique federal pilot undertaking in 2012, seven mannequin boarding Tsangaya major faculties had been established throughout the state.
They had been the Model Boarding Tsangaya Primary School, Gantsa in Buji LGA; Model Tsangaya School (together with services at Turabu) in Burniwa LGA; and others in Jahun, Gwiwa, Gagarawa, and Sule Tankarkar LGAs.
Hamisu Adamu is the spokesperson for the normal Tsangaya faculties within the state.
He advised PREMIUM TIMES that the federal authorities’s initiative introduced significant and constructive change to the Tsangaya instructional system. He additionally recommended the state authorities’s efforts in complementing the initiative.
”Since former President Goodluck Jonathan launched this programme, it has had an affect throughout Jigawa. Under the built-in mannequin, kids graduate outfitted with each Qur’anic and traditional primary training. The state authorities deserves reward for building upon these foundations, as these continued efforts will go a good distance towards addressing the challenges confronted by Almajiri pupils.
”Parents have additionally famous the constructive transformation within the system, highlighting that pupils at the moment are buying important numeracy and literacy abilities, in contrast to within the earlier conventional setup,” Mr Adamu stated.
What is totally different now?
The Jigawa State Government has undertaken a scientific reform of the Tsangaya instructional system. Its holistic integration mannequin blends Quranic memorisation with teachers, technical abilities, and primary youngster welfare.
The course of is led by Abubakar Hamisu, the manager secretary of the newly established Jigawa State Tsangaya Education Board (JISTEB). Through the board, the state has scaled up its interventions—transferring from a finances allocation of ₦1.82 billion in 2025 to ₦3.5 billion for the 2026 fiscal 12 months.
The state handed the JISTEB Bill, 2024, granting authorized authority, devoted oversight, and finances autonomy to reform the sector.
The finances was elevated to ₦3.5 billion in 2026 to execute capital and recurrent initiatives geared toward reaching hundreds of out-of-school kids.
To scale up integration and help over 1.3 million Almajiri pupils, Mr Hamisu stated the board constructed three regional mega Tsangaya faculties and expanded mannequin centres in Dutse, Ringim and Kafin Hausa LGAs.
Other energetic integration hubs had been established in Hadejia, Kazaure, Gumel, Taura (Gujungu), Maigatari, and Kiyawa (Shuwarin) LGAs.
Unlike the piecemeal interventions of the previous, the state has established a everlasting statutory backing for its reforms.
The Tsangaya construction transitions away from single-subject recitation by embedding three distinct tracks: conventional Quranic recitation and Arabic values; primary English, Mathematics, and Science topics underneath the federal authorities’s Accelerated Basic Education Program (ABEP).
Practical trades—together with Plaster of Paris (POP), carpentry, plumbing, electrical installations, tailoring, and calligraphy—had been additionally designed to give pupils path-to-market self-reliance, Mr Hamisu stated in August throughout a gathering with Tsangaya lecturers.
Model centres
According to the official, the three mannequin services in Dutse, Ringim, and Kafin Hausa are outfitted with talent acquisition centres, trainer centres, mosques, kitchens, clear water, and photo voltaic vitality.
Mr Hamisu stated a complete overhaul and enlargement of seven Tsangaya Model Schools inherited from the 2012 federal authorities pilot scheme within the state, together with Gwiwa, will increase capability to admit over 7,500 extra kids.
Added to that, he stated, is the development of studying sheds, new school rooms, and sanitation infrastructure in 60 group Tsangaya faculties in 30 state constituencies, concentrating on entry for over 6,000 kids.
Mr Hamisu stated the state has partnered with the National Board for Arabic and Islamic Education (NBAIS) to run a six-month specialised coaching programme for specialised lecturers (Alarammas) and created a pathway to enrol the Tsangaya pupils to sit for normal NBAIS examinations, incomes recognised Senior School Certificates to pursue additional training or white-collar/vocational careers.
The Jigawa State mannequin represents a shift away from short-term reduction towards long-term institutional reform.
By creating statutory backing, securing substantial state funding, bettering dwelling environments, and providing recognised training alongside commerce abilities, the state is offering a transparent pathway to combine Almajirai into the formal financial system.
Data paint a much bigger image of challenges forward
A newly launched set of experiences from the Jigawa State Bureau of Statistics has outlined the dimensions of key socioeconomic challenges going through the state, offering a baseline for focused authorities intervention.
Governor Namadi stated the experiences provide crucial insights to information improvement priorities, improve public service supply, and reinforce evidence-based governance.
The governor highlighted the need of utilizing dependable statistics to establish systemic gaps, optimise useful resource allocation, and monitor sectoral progress.
”Statistics usually are not summary figures. They are the spine of socioeconomic planning, the idea for sound selections and strategic useful resource allocation, and the means by which we assess efficiency and guarantee accountability for outcomes,” Governor Namadi stated after receiving the paperwork on 13 October.
The report highlights vital figures throughout the state’s major and secondary college programs.
It revealed that 1,320,770 pupils had been registered throughout private and non-private major faculties, with feminine college students being 752,921, representing 57 per cent of whole enrollment.
Public major faculties accounted for 999,130 pupils, public junior secondary faculties recorded 214,166 college students, and public senior secondary faculties enrolled 137,795 college students.
Additionally, 167,975 kids had been enrolled in one-year pre-primary training programmes.
While nearly all of public college lecturers maintain required skilled {qualifications}—84 per cent on the major stage, 83 per cent in junior secondary, and 82 per cent in senior secondary—pupil-teacher ratios stay excessive.
Primary faculties recorded a ratio of 96:1, junior secondary faculties stood at 57:1, and senior secondary faculties stood at 38:1.
ALSO READ: Jigawa’s Almajiri children can no longer be classified out-of-school – Governor Namadi
The experiences additionally marked the state’s first complete non-formal training census performed throughout the 27 native authorities areas.
The survey recognized 10,197 non-formal centres catering to 1,116,289 learners throughout Islamiyya and Tsangaya faculties, grownup literacy centres, and vocational coaching programmes.
The census documented urgent welfare considerations amongst Almajiri learners, exhibiting that 66 per cent rely on group help for his or her every day meals.
Living services of the almajiris had been discovered to be severely stretched, with 61.1 per cent of sleeping quarters requiring main repairs and three.5 per cent deemed completely unusable.
Governor Namadi said that the info would information state initiatives to combine Tsangaya training, enhance pupil welfare, and scale up grownup literacy and talent acquisition programmes.
He famous that the state established the Tsangaya Education Board to drive structural reforms and enhance oversight throughout the non-formal training sector.
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