The Katsina State Government is to conduct a census to determine the number of Almajiri pupils as well as the number of Islamiya schools across the state.

The census, which will be flagged off by the state governor, Dr Dikko Radda, on Saturday, 27 December, is to be handled by the Katsina Statistics Bureau.

A statement by the Media Assistant to the Statistician-General of the state, Sa’id Sirajo, said the exercise is to be conducted in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Katsina is among the states with the highest number of Almajiri pupils in the northwest region, with a 2022 UNICEF census putting the figure at 243,000.

From 2019 to 2022, the state government said it had registered 25,922 Almajiri pupils across the state, even as it identified and integrated 255 Qur’anic schools within the same period.

The statement said the goal of the latest exercise is to count every student in the Islamiya or Tsangaya schools, data which would help government improve these schools.

“When the government has the right data, it will know exactly where to build new classrooms and how to help the students,” the statement said.

It added: “The Statistician-General, Prof. Saifullahi Sani, and his team are currently preparing to train the workers (enumerators) who will go from house to house and school to school to collect this information.”

It quoted the bureau as saying that the exercise is “the first step to building a better future” and that “by knowing the number of Almajiri children we have, the government can better plan for their education and welfare.”

“This census is a key part of Governor Radda’s plan to make sure every child in Katsina State has a bright future and that no school is left behind,” the statement added.