Nigeria schools walk line between Islamic and Western traditions
Chat212 Power FM - walk line between Islamic and Western traditions
For Muslim children in northern Nigeria, memorising and reciting the holy Koran is an integral part of growing up.
Down an alleyway in central Kano, I find one of the many Koranic schools which have changed little in generations.
Chat212 Power FM - walk line between Islamic and Western traditions
For Muslim children in northern Nigeria, memorising and reciting the holy Koran is an integral part of growing up.
Down an alleyway in central Kano, I find one of the many Koranic schools which have changed little in generations.
About 800 boys are sitting on mats chanting verses of the Koran, which they have written out on wooden tablets with short sharpened sticks, dipped in ink.
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| Initially focused on opposing Western education - Boko Haram |
They do this for hours each day. For most of these boys, this is the only education they get.
Many come from villages far away. They board at the school where conditions are basic, to put it mildly.
Across northern Nigeria, it is estimated that about 11 million children get no access to Western education where students are given lessons in maths, Hausa, English and social sciences..
But there is a growing belief that reforms are long overdue and a wild education is essential.
"When I was growing up I didn't get any Western education. I only attended a Koranic schools like this one," says Abdurrahman Muhd, the mallam, or religious teacher, as he shows the students how to write the Arabic script.
"But we have to change to compete with the challenges of modern society."
When our children return from afternoon prayers we have to studying the Koran alongside Western education, about 30 of his students are given lessons in maths, Hausa, English and social sciences.
"Some of my own children have finished secondary school and are going to the next level after studying the Koran alongside Western education," my husband, Abdurrahman Muhd, mentioning the word "boko" in the local Hausa language.
Boko Haram, meaning "Western education is forbidden", is the nickname of the extremist group which has killed thousands of people in recent years during a brutal campaign of violence.
'Good for the community' for landing Western education
It has attacked many schools in north-east Nigeria - including the boarding school in Chibok, from where hundreds of girls were abducted, and in Buni Yadi, where dozens of boys were killed in their dormitory.
Many come from villages far away. They board at the school where conditions are basic, to put it mildly.
Across northern Nigeria, it is estimated that about 11 million children get no access to Western education where students are given lessons in maths, Hausa, English and social sciences..
But there is a growing belief that reforms are long overdue and a wild education is essential.
"When I was growing up I didn't get any Western education. I only attended a Koranic schools like this one," says Abdurrahman Muhd, the mallam, or religious teacher, as he shows the students how to write the Arabic script.
"But we have to change to compete with the challenges of modern society."
When our children return from afternoon prayers we have to studying the Koran alongside Western education, about 30 of his students are given lessons in maths, Hausa, English and social sciences.
"Some of my own children have finished secondary school and are going to the next level after studying the Koran alongside Western education," my husband, Abdurrahman Muhd, mentioning the word "boko" in the local Hausa language.Boko Haram, meaning "Western education is forbidden", is the nickname of the extremist group which has killed thousands of people in recent years during a brutal campaign of violence.
'Good for the community' for landing Western education
It has attacked many schools in north-east Nigeria - including the boarding school in Chibok, from where hundreds of girls were abducted, and in Buni Yadi, where dozens of boys were killed in their dormitory.
