218 COVID-19 negative almajirai get scholarship in Kaduna

Gombe discharges 44 after quarantine
Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai has promised the 218 almajirai who were recently returned to the state and tested negative for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) free primary and secondary education.

He said yesterday that the 218 would be under the state government’s sponsorship.

“Every child in Kaduna has equal opportunity and access to 12 years of free and compulsory education in our public schools,” he added.

On his Facebook page, the governor said that he was “pleased to see our almajiri children, the batch of 218 from Kano, Nasarawa, Plateau and Gombe states looking well and free of COVID-19.”

According to him, with the support of United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Aminu Musa Abdulsalam (AMA) Foundation, as well as other non-governmental organisations and philanthropists, the children’s full human rights, dignity and hope are restored.

The governor disclosed that the next step was for the Commissioner for Human Services and Social Development, Mrs. Hafsat Baba, and her team, in collaboration with council chairmen and traditional rulers, to return the children to their parents.

He insisted: “All the children are to be compulsorily enrolled in the primary school nearest to them, so they have modern education and life skills in the morning, and continue their quranic or Islamic education in the afternoon and over the weekend. That is how many of us got our education. That is what the Northern Governors’ Forum decided. These children may the future of Northern Nigeria.”

Meanwhile, the Gombe State COVID-19 Task Force has discharged another set of almajirai from the Amada quarantine camp after they tested negative for the virus after completing their two weeks quarantine in the state.

The 44 children discharged yesterday were part of the batch of 64 at the transit camp, with the remaining 20 awaiting their test results.

Gombe State Governor Muhammadu Yahaya said at a ceremony that the almajirai were children of the state and urged the citizens not to stigmatise them.

Represented by the Commissioner for Education, Dr. Habu Dahiru, the governor admonished the children to be at the vanguard of the campaign against the spread of the virus, as they would be provided with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), so they would enlighten their families and peers on the dangers of COVID-19.

He said the children would be handed over to the Balanga Council administrator.

The Deputy Camp Director, Yusuf Danbayo, described the condition at the camp as suitable for children, explaining that the kids enjoyed good meals and had access to quranic education.

This batch of almajirai were from Adamawa and were kitted with new clothes, bags and educational materials courtesy of Gombe government to continue a new form of education under the Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) at their home in Balanseni, Balanga Council of Gombe.