Reforming almajirai through tsangaya system in Kano
By SALIHU OTHMAN ISAH (wandaction2003@yahoo.com)
Education in any positive form, whether Western, Islamic or traditional is the bedrock for the development of any society. And for any rational society to make headway, its government must give adequate attention to all the spheres so as to get the knowledge spread across its citizenry. But sad that in spite of the prime position Kano holds as the biggest Islamic city in the whole of Africa , nay the black world successive administrations in the state have neglected the basic Islamic form of education, which is the Tsangaya.
For those who may not know, Tsangaya is the Hausa language for learning centres. It is the situation where the knowledge seeking Muslim children stay under the tutelage of their teacher; like a boarding school arrangement. However, it is believed that the name Tsangaya is derived from the Kanuri word, Sangaya. The history of Qur’anic schools can be traced to as far back as the 13th century when Islam first penetrated the Hausa territory. Records showed that North African traders mainly brought the religion to our clime in the cause of doing their trading activities. These traders were able to convert a lot of people because of the strength of their character.
Laying a background for this discourse is utmost and profound so as to establish the importance that the current government of Governor Ibrahim Shekarau attaches to not just the Islamic education, but the Tsangaya system of education with a view to discouraging the Almajirai phenomenon. This phenomenon is queer and distasteful to society because of the nuisance Almajirai have constituted through begging.
Going back memory lane and into history books, scholars revealed that Almajirai began as a means of including the virtues of humility, Alarammomi (Islamic teachers) and sometimes parents, eventhough they have enough to feed their children; would still send them out to scavenge and beg for food so they would have practical knowledge and experience of the virtue of humility. Hence, with the times gone by; Alarammomi inculcated begging as a vital ingredient of Qur’anic education, thereby neglecting Islamic perspective to this ugly trend.
Islam as a religion condemns begging, not just by the able-bodied, but those who are disabled but with ability to eke out a living without necessarily resorting to begging for food or alms. In fact, there is a consensus amongst Islamic scholars that begging is strongly discouraged in Islam. According to a hadith of our Prophet Muhammad (SAW), it is better for a person to go into a forest and make wood for sale rather than to go out begging for alms. Thus, only when one is totally helpless and has tried all other means without success is one allowed to beg.
This probably explains why the Kano state governor has invested a fortune to change the ugly tide. Since October 23, 2003, when he launched an ambitious Action Plan on Qur’anic, Islamiyya and Ilmi schools that clearly spelt out the government’s commitment towards assisting the teachers and students of these schools as part of his administration’s effort in Shariah implementation, it has been well lauded from different quarters. And of all the programmes, the pilot feeding one had attracted more commendation probably because of the deep concern that everyone has towards the large numbers of the Almajirai of Qur’anic boarding schools in tattered clothes and roaming from house to house or the streets begging for food to eat.
The vision according to the Action Plan is to bring about a revolution where government accords due importance to the Islamic educational system, given special upliftment of its standards, squarely addressing all the problem and challenges facing the system, as well as duly recognizing and employing products and teachers of the system.
It would be recalled that since the launching of the Action Plan, the present administration has started several programmes aimed at achieving the vision. They include such programmes as sensitization seminars, skill development training for the product of Qur’anic schools, infrastructural development assistance in the schools and pilot feeding programme for Almajirai in selected local government areas. From a modest assessment, the programmes are rated as successful as they have recorded positive impact on the welfare of both the Islamic teachers and students alike, as well as their counterparts in Islamiyyah and Ilmi schools.
At the introduction and incubation stages of the Tsangaya system of education, specifically between 2004 and 2005, available records show that the Shekarau administration has expended about N249, 859, 396: 30 on the system. A breakdown of the expenditure reveals that in 2005, the sum of N1, 563, 355: 00 was devoted to research and documentation while seminars to sensitize the Alarammomi gulped N16, 316, 879: 30 in the review period. The purchase of cows, agricultural implements and grains for self reliance programme got N15, 545, 230: 00 in the two years under review.
For the training of Alarammomi in Islamic calligraphy, computers, tailoring, carpentry, electrical installation and leather works; a whooping sum of N32, 712, 575: 00 was expended in this very important aspect of the project.
Also, N10, 330, 015: 00 was deployed for the pilot feeding programmes in Ajingi, Makoda and Warawa local government areas in 2005 alone according to available records, while between the said 2004 and 2005, the princely sum of N89, 854, 800: 00 was used to oil the infrastructural development of the project with N74 million devoted in 2004 alone.
In the same light, media programmes in the two years in question received N12,791,420:00 with the visit of Alarammomi to other nations gulping the sum of N7,555, 700: 00 in the two years in reference. Similarly, the sum of N17,452,162:00 was ploughed into Islamiyya school training with the years in review and in 2005 alone, N1,737, 260: 00 was used to service the establishment of advanced Islamiyya schools.
The Shekarau government equally spent N44 million; with N1 million allocated to each of the 44 local government areas of the state for the construction of one model Tsangaya. Equally deserving of applause is the establishment of the Tsangaya Trust Fund in 2005. The idea is to serve as a source of funds to improve the welfare of the students of Qur’anic schools.
One must also commend the devotion and transparent manner the project has been pursued since its inception. However, more reforms are desirable for it to meet the standard required of it in order to achieve the objectives. It has been canvassed elsewhere that for Tsangaya to be effective and record adequate success story; concerted effort should be made to further sensitize the stakeholders through workshops, seminars and the likes. In particular, parents and Islamic scholars themselves should be galvanized and updated for them to know their expectations as far as bringing up a child; particularly through Tsangaya system is concerned. This is as far as their role as purveyors of Islamic knowledge on their wards permits.
Obviously, emphasis should also be given to Western education for the Almajirai. This is of absolute importance for them to combine both forms of education, i.e., Islam and formal education for them to be abreast with modern trend; both in knowledge and in etiquette.

ISAH is a journalist based in Kano