The Katsina State government on Wednesday received 419 almajiris evacuated by the Kano State government.
Governor Umar Ganduje had announced the approval of deportation of almajiris as part of the measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The Director of Press in the office of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Abdullahi Yar’adua in a statement made available to journalists on Wednesday in Katsina said the almajiris would be taken to the NYSC camp in the state for another round of health examinations from where they would be transported back to their various local governments across the state.
He said they were handed over to the government by the Kano State Commissioner for Education, Alhaji Muhammad Majidadin-Kiru, at Gidan Mutum-daya, a border town between the two states.
The statement reads in part: ” We thank the Kano State Government for making adequate arrangements in profiling and quarantining the almajiris before handing them over.
“Parents are advised to desist from sending their wards to unknown places, thereby, exposing them to social dangers under the guise of seeking for religious knowledge.
“It is their responsibility to ensure proper upbringing of their children, which is totally lacking in the almajiri system.”
He added that the state government had already closed down both Islamiyya and Qur’anic schools, and returned the almajiris to their parents including those from Niger Republic.
Ireportnews recalls that Ganduje’s move to reduce the risk of exposing almajiris to the deadly Coronavirus has been met with diverse reactions from Nigerians on social media.
