NEDC Support 38,000 Vulnerable Tsangaya, Almajiri Children with Relief Items
By Baba Dan’iya
The North-East Development Commission (NEDC), in collaboration with the Yobe Government, has supported 38,000 vulnerable children in Tsangaya and Almajiri schools with non-food items across the 17 Local Government Areas of the state.
Mr Ali Abbas, the NEDC Coordinator in Yobe, stated this during the distribution exercise in Buni-Yadi, Gujba Local Government Area, one of the communities worst affected by the insurgency in the region.
He said the intervention was designed to provide warmth and relief to pupils during the harmattan season, while complementing government efforts to improve security and restore normalcy in affected communities.
Abbas said the items included blankets and mats for pupils in Tsangaya and Almajiri schools, adding that the gesture formed part of a broader initiative to strengthen Islamic education structures in the state.
He noted that the Commission had recently completed a new solar-powered borehole in the school to improve access to potable water for pupils and teachers.
According to him, five solar-powered boreholes have so far been constructed in Tsangaya schools across the state, with plans to scale up the initiative based on the success of the pilot phase.
He said the aim was to support existing learning centres to create a more conducive teaching and learning environment comparable to mainstream education systems.
Abbas said the initiative was also aligned with long-term efforts to modernise the Almajiri system and reposition it to contribute to national development.
He described the intervention as a pilot project designed to assess sustainability before expansion to additional schools in the state.
In his remarks, Mr Mustapha Mohammed Gujba, the Yobe State Focal Person on Almajiri and Out-of-School Children, commended the Commission on behalf of the government.
He said the NEDC had executed several infrastructural projects across the state, including roads, boreholes, bridges, education facilities and market structures.
Mohammed Gujba described the Tsangaya support programme as an important milestone and reaffirmed the state government’s readiness to strengthen the collaboration.
Also speaking, Alaramma Muhammadu Rabi’u, popularly known as Mai Bataliya, thanked the Commission and the state government on behalf of scholars whose pupils benefited from the gesture.
He assured that the items would be utilised for the intended purposes and urged the pupils to use them responsibly.
