Nasir M Baba

This paper examines the issue of dualism or diarchy in the educational structure of Northern Nigeria and how various Nigerian governments have grappled with the problem of forging a workable synthesis between Qur'anic school system and Western education without much success. The paper asserts that in recent times, the deplorable conditions of these schools, cases of child abuse/neglect associated with them and the need to expand access to education for all have forced a second look at the future of Our'anic schools. It examines the attempts to integrate Qur'anic school into the Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme and raises some conceptual questions on the feasibility and likely consequences of this arrangement.

Contents in climate change and disaster risk reduction education are to feature as revolving themes across subjects such as English Studies, Basic Science and Technology, and Religious and Values Education in a new structure of Basic Education (BE) released by Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) in 2012. This paper analyses how basic education curricular can be used to promote global social issues such as enlightening the populace about climate change. The aim is to explore challenges that are involved in doing so. This task is undertaken against the background that implementing the agenda of global dimensions into curriculum realities often has to cope with local resistance and scepticism. One source of resistance, for instance, is how global agenda are generally conveyed in a language and style that makes it difficult for local actors to comprehend how these issues are relevant to their situations. By engaging with major themes of the debate over climate change, the paper analyses the implications of these themes in developing content and resources for the teaching of climate change education at the basic education level. A number of options are also proposed for identifying culturally-responsive pedagogies/resources for teaching climate change at the basic education level in Nigeria.

This paper examines the role of teacher education in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The paper first analysed the concept of development from its beginning as a market-oriented model concerned only with economic growth to its gradual shift to basic human needs enabled by criticisms it received from scholars like Amartya Sen who operate from the human development perspective. Similarly, the paper examined the transformative role of education from its earlier deployment to the service of environmental concerns only (as environmental education) to its broadening to take on themes of development and sustainability. However, education's most practical application to sustainability and development was within the context of the United Nations Decade on Education for Sustainable Development (2004-2015). Therefore, the paper reviewed previous evaluations of the implementation of the DESD and extracted lessons from it that are relevant for the implementation of the provisions of the National Teacher Education Policy as revised. This effort fits into the overall argument of this paper that developing countries like Nigeria are better served if they are critical of international development and selectively implement those of its aspects that develop local capacities, institutions and processes. Doing this would enable Nigeria's teacher education system to approach international development from a position of strength.

The large number of children out of school and therefore excluded from benefiting from basic education is a matter of major concern to governments particularly in the wake of Nigeria's commitment to attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs, and in particular, the goals of Education for All (EFA) This paper establishes that Qur'anic schools, despite their perceived relevance to lives of communities in northern Nigeria, house a large number of children who suffer exclusion from basic education. This largely derives from their limited curricula, absence of official recognition, limited funding opportunities, and the consequent abusive practices that some pupils of the Qur'anic schools have to endure. Concern over these issues has compelled the Federal Government to chart a policy direction that will see to the integration of Qur'anic schools into its Universal Basic Education (UBE,) programme. The paper examined emergent issues with regards to this integration strategy and made appropriate recommendations for its actualisation.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a Non-Formal Education Curriculum (NFEC) designed by the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) and UNICEF in integrating students of Traditional Qur'anic Schools (TQS) into the Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme. TQS provide early religious socialisation and training focused on the study of the Quran to several categories of Muslim children including many who are also enrolled in formal primary schools. But the most valued students of TQS, in terms of their potentials of contributing to the continuity of culturally valued religious traditions, are the boys that devote full-time attention to the exclusive study of the Qur'an and other Islamic subjects under the tutelage of Qur'anic teachers (malammai , in Hausa). On the other hand, these boys (called almajirai ) are considered by the Nigerian state as largest category of out-of-school children. The problem addressed by this research is how effectively has the NFEC been in mediating these conflicting perceptions of the almajirai and encouraging their participation in the UBE? In order to answer this question, data were collected on three main variables (institutional capacities of the schools, students’ participation rates, & social acceptability) regarding the implementation of NFEC using a questionnaire, classroom observation, and Focus Group Discussion (FGD). These instruments were administered on samples drawn from malammai and facilitators the participating TQS (PTQS) in Katsina, Sokoto, and Zamfara states. The study found that the effectiveness of the NFEC was hampered by constraints of poor quality of teaching personnel, inadequate supply of instructional resources, and inadequate provision for the welfare of the almajirai. In addition, negative indicators such as high dropout rates, declining enrolment of girls, and low transition to formal schools suggest that PTQS are not enabling the full participation of their students into the UBE. On their part, the malammai showed little enthusiasm for NFEC going beyond providing the almajirai with basic rudimentary knowledge that will enhance their performance of social, economic, and civic routines.

"Islamic schools in Nigeria have undergone transformations from a position of monopolistic control over spiritual knowledge, to one of competition and subsequently struggle for survival as they encountered missionary and colonial incursions. The post-colonial state that emerged had to endure weakened Islamic schools which nonetheless retained legitimacy in the eyes of observant Muslims as culturally and religiously valued institutions. This paper describes a fluctuating pattern of mutual isolation, engagement and competition that characterise the relationship between the state, Islamic schools, and an influential corps of Islamic cleric (‘ulama’) operating outside the spheres of state bureaucracy. Northern Nigeria, where these schools are prevalent, has endured a long list of developmental challenges including a low level of educational attainment which places it at a competitive disadvantage in its relationship with Southern Nigeria. The paper submits that although both the state and a section of the Ulama realise that a reform of Islamic schools is vital to the development of Northern Nigeria, a long period of mutual isolation and the weak position of Nigeria’s educational bureaucracy has made finding a common operational framework difficult. A strong state-driven education delivery mechanism is what Nigeria needs in order to control the unregulated growth of different brands of Islamic schools from compounding its many developmental challenges.
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The present paper attempts to answer the question: what accounts for the persistence of Qur'anic schools as separate schools operating at cross-purposes with the Nigerian state in the provision of education to millions of Muslim children officially reported to be “out of school?“ To answer this question, the paper traces the long years of mutual isolation between the state and Islamic institutions, particularly in northern Nigeria, that was at first a product of colonisation, but subsequently a reflection of state failure to meet its obligations toward a people struggling to come to terms with the loss of their cultural and religious values as western influences became pervasive. The paper suggests that by remaining faithful to those values, ideas, and practices that hold together the cultural-religious essence of life, Qur'anic schools and their owners fill a void that neither the new religious elite nor the post-colonial Nigerian state has been able to recognize. The paper expresses concern, however, that although culturally-relevant, the bond between Qur'anic schools and their communities further isolates young generations of Nigerian Muslims from constructively engaging with the state. An inclusive state policy on education based on constructive engagement with the hidden clients of Nigeria's submerged Qur'anic schools is what the country needs if these schools are to play any future positive role in education.