By Ngozi Nwankwo
Among the10 Integrated Quranic School, IQS, learners mainstreamed into formal education to pursue their future dreams, Ms Asma’u Dauda was the only female learner integrated into Girls Government Secondary School by Mkarantar Malam Sa’idu Taka-Tuku.
Founded in 1960 by late Malam Sa’Idu Taka-Tuku, the Makarantar is one of the IQS centres in Bondiga Local Government Area of Sokoto Sate benefitting from Girls Education Programme, GEP3.
The programme being implemented in six states of the north, including Sokoto state is aimed at improving girls’ enrolment in the target northern states, to complete basic education and acquire skills for life and livelihoods.
While the decision to include over 99 IQS Centres in Foreign,Commonwealth and Development Office, FCDO’s supported project, GEP3, and integrating in the Educational Management Information System, EMIS, has not only reduced the rate of the Out- of- School children in Sokoto and other beneficiary states, but also served as a major breakthrough to Makarantar Sa’idu Taka-Tuku and a dream came true for the young Asma’u Dauda who did not allow her learning to end in IQS, nor succumb to early marriage, and street hawking, instead, she transited to formal education.
Aspiring to become a medical doctor, Ms Dauda was directly mainstreamed into Girls Secondary School after using the IQS assessment- Early Grade Reading Assessment, EGRA, and Early Grade Mathematics Assessment, EGMA, to check capability of learners and where they fit in, and her excellent performance distinguished her from other learners.
Speaking to journalists who were on a field trip to the Makarantar Malam Sa’Idu Taka-Tuku to ascertain the level of progress and impact of integrating basic education in IQS through GEP3 Programme has made in the community of Takatuku, one of the facilitators of the Centre, Lauwali Sa’Idu said, ” So many things have changed in our centre since the implementation of GEP3 here. Through the small and macro school support grant we received from FCDO and support from UNICEF we have expanded our classrooms from one to three classrooms because of increase in enrolment. We have also achieved a major breakthrough by ensuring that learners, especially our girls are not ending here in the centre but transiting to formal education, Primary and Secondary Schools. Since two years now, we have mainstreamed about 10 learners into primary schools and nine of them were boys but the only girl amongst them was mainstreamed directly to Secondary school due to her outstanding performance.
Explaining further, the facilitator said, “Though mainstreaming Asma’u Dauda was a difficult task as it was done by a constant negotiation with her parents who like other parents in the community do not see education for girl child as a priority but a waste of resources and time. We had to convince her parents to allow her further her education beyond learning Quran. After much negotiations, her parents accepted with the condition of withdrawing their support with the reason that their family is financially constrained. This condition was accepted by the School- Based Management Committee,SBMC and facilitators of the centre because we know that one day this girl will make the community proud. So, what we did, we moved into action by providing all the basic things she needed for the school.”
