The Kaduna State government has assured that Almajiri school pupils and other underprivileged children in the state will be given qualitative educational opportunities.
The assurance came from Dr. Fauziya Buhari-Ado, the Special Assistant to Governor Uba Sani on the school feeding programme, in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja.
Fauziya spoke while hosting some Islamic and underprivileged school pupils as part of the Eid el-Kabir Sallah celebration held at the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua bilingual primary school situated in Maraban Gonda, Sabongari local council of Kaduna State.
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She stated that the government decided to fete the pupils who combine both Western and Islamic education as part of an ongoing effort to ensure that children of the less privileged have access to quality education in the state.
Fauziya further stated that the school feeding program, which so far cost the state government over N4 billion, has boosted school enrollment and retention as well as stimulated the local economy in the state.
She said that no fewer than 25,000 school pupils spread across the 23 local councils of the state are benefiting from the school feeding program.
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Fauziya also revealed that the event, which witnessed the slaughtering of the sacrificial ram, special Eid lunch, cutting of the cake, and distribution of free gifts, provided her the opportunity to interact with the pupils who were initially out-of-school children in the state.
An official of one of the Islamic schools, Malam AbdulHamid Ahmed, described the school feeding initiative as a welcome development since it has created an enabling environment for vulnerable children to have equal opportunities to acquire education in the state.
He acknowledged that the school feeding program has positively impacted school enrollment in his school.
The village head of Filin Malawa, Magaji Datiya, thanked the Governor Sani-led administration for the kind gesture.
