Impact of Tsangaya Education System on the Development of Arabic Language in Zamfara State: A Study of Some Selected Tsangaya Schools in Gusau Town

Tsangaya system of education is a programme designed to cater for the Almajirai/students who are out-of-school not only in Zamfara State, but also throughout northern Nigeria. The programme is aimed at integrating traditional Qur’anic Schools and western education under Universal Basic Education Commission. The establishment of Tsangaya or almajiri integrated education is one of the current issues that require special intervention from the governments at all levels to take measures to curtail the menace of street begging, drug abuse, child trafficking and youth in the name of pursuing Qur’anic Education. The Tsangaya or almajiri (Itinerant Qur’anic School Pupils) constitutes the largest group of out-of-school children in Nigeria numbering over nine (9) million children (Universal Basic Education Commission UBEC, 2010). This segment of Nigerian population poses tremendous challenges to the attainment of Education For All (EFA) and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The study examines five Tsangaya schools within Gusau town whose contributions to the Arabic language cannot be over emphasized. The study also adopts both qualitative and quantitative approach of data collection in order to be able gather more reliable information. It also uses both primary and secondary sources for information gathering.