The Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, on Monday, insisted that most Quranic education school pupils, popularly known as Almajiri, who roam the streets in the Northern part of Nigeria, are not Nigerians.

Ganduje said this while declaring open a three-day retreat organised by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) in Kano.

“From the survey we’ve conducted, most of the Almajiri roaming our streets are from Niger, Chad and the northern part of Cameroun.

“Once you improve the quality of Almajiri education system, you’re inviting other Almajiri from other places to come to your state. That’s another problem.

“The Northern governors are putting more pressure toward having a universal legislation that’ll limit the migration from one state to another,” Gandeje said.

The theme of the retreat was,” Enhancing Basic Education in Nigeria towards a Robust Institutional Strengthening and Effective Stakeholder Engagement.

Ganduje noted that the retreat was “very vital and important, especially at this moment that the country is gradually coming out from the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected education in the country.”