Paucity of fund, insecurity and low morale has been identified as major reasons militating against speedy integration of western education into the Tsangaya school system.
Also standing as stumbling blocks are dearth of qualified Arabic Islamic teachers, instructional materials, poor response from state governments and low enrolment of pupils.
Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), which had been carryout advocacy visits to states in the country, learnt that although many schools proprietors were willing to integrate the system, factors listed had been the bane.
The advocacy team, led by Professor M. M. Jagaba, which visited Ilorin, Kwara state, recently, said a mirage of complaints by school proprietors, were based on the listed factors.
Jagaba said the team was in the state to ascertain complaints with a view to articulating them for federal government intervention with states.
He, therefore appealed to the state government to include Tsangaya education in its budget so as to assist proprietors in developing the system, saying that Moslem as a religion was not discriminatory to western education.
He said the essence of the integration of western with Tsangaya was to ensure that Muslim children, when the come out, can associate and be useful to themselves in future”.
Director, Special Programmes, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Mansur Idris, called on the state government to support Tsangaya school owners with their demands, stressing that basic education was the responsibility of states and local governments.
He assured proprietors that the federal government, through UBEC was deoing everty thing possible to ensure a well-developed schools for almajiris children, adding that appropriate steps would be taken with the state government on their behalf.
The team visited, among others, Ibrahim Islamic College, Darul Hikman Islamic Nursery and Primary School, Almagiri Model School Government Model Girls Junior Secondary School, Oke Oyi, Ilorin East local government area.
