Minister of Education, Alhaji Adamu Adamu faces hurdles achieving his plan to resuscitate the defunct Northern Nigeria Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies,NBAIS.
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The Minister had forwarded a Memorandum to the Federal Executive Council, FEC, seeking approval for the re-establishment of the National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies as a parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Education.
“The purpose of this memo is to seek the council’s approval for a waiver for the establishment of the National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies as a parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Education.
“NBAIS was formally established in 1959 by the government of the defunct Northern Region to perform the following functions: To develop curriculum and syllabus for Arabic and Islamic schools and centres; to supervise these same Arabic and Islamic schools and centres; to ensure high enrollment of learners into the formal school system that would have otherwise been out of school with the attendant security implications; and to impart specialized knowledge on Arabic and Islamic Studies through the Arabic medium as well as other formal school subjects in English,” the education minister had said in a memo before the federal executive council.
However, report says the proposal does not enjoy the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN’s support.
“What is the economic or collective benefit of such a religious parastatal? Is it also a technical way of showing dominance and generating employment for a religious group by the federal government?” Vanguard quoted CAN’s Director of Legal and Public Affairs, Kwamkur Samuel as saying.
