The Muslim women committing Nigeria’s out-of-school children to classrooms

At 26, Mubarak Abdullahi still feels the sting of never having had the chance to acquire a formal education. As a child, whenever he saw his neighbours heading to school, he longed for the same privilege.

His rural community, Oluloke, along with neighbouring areas in Nigeria’s north-central Kwara State, lacked affordable public schools. The available private schools were too expensive. “My parents were not financially capable of sending us to those private schools,” he recalls, adding that he had to begin an apprenticeship in tailoring before he turned 10.

What troubled Abdullahi even more, just seven years ago, was that his young daughter was facing the same problem—lack of access to basic education. His tailoring job wasn’t bringing in enough income to fund her schooling.

The lack of access to basic education in rural communities like Oluloke underscores a broader crisis in Nigeria, where at least 20 million children are out of school. Over the years, non-state interventions have emerged to address this issue, and one of the most active in northern Nigeria is the Federation of Muslim Women’s Association of Nigeria, or FOMWAN.

Islamic teachings inspire intervention

Inspired by Islamic teachings that advocate for education as a moral imperative, FOMWAN builds highly subsidised schools in underserved communities. The organisation oversees most of the schools’ operations, often partnering with state governments to ensure adequate staffing for its primary schools. In some instances, the government employs and pays half of the teachers.

In 2004, FOMWAN decided to address the rural education crisis in some Kwara communities by building the FOMWAN Comprehensive College in Oke Ode, a community neighbouring Abdullahi’s Oluloke.

“Some of my brothers graduated from this school,” says Isiaq Umar, the head boy of the college, a smile forming on his face.

“The school started with just 11 children that year [2004]. Currently, we have over 300 students enrolled,” emphasises Abdulqodir Muhammad, the principal.

In 2018, FOMWAN built the FOMWAN Primary School in Sha’re village, which is Abdullahi’s Oluloke community, effectively ending the decades-long absence of affordable public schools.

“My first daughter is attending the school,” says Abdullah. “The school fees are affordable, and the school maintains a standard of learning for the pupils.”

Mariam Salami, the school’s headmistress and a community member, acknowledges the impact: “The intervention has really encouraged parents to enrol their children in formal education. Previously, the lack of schools in this community contributed to the high number of out-of-school children. Many children were primarily enrolled in apprenticeships.”

The “school fee” Abdullahi refers to is N700 (about $0.5) per term for the primary school and N3500 ($2.5) for secondary school. These fees are insignificant compared to the N7000 (for primary schools) and N12,000-15,000 (for secondary schools) that private schools in the community charge.

The bulk of FOMWAN’s funding comes from grants and contributions from its financially active members, numbering 24. Each pays N10,000 quarterly as a contribution.

Disability inclusion, but no gender balance

In Baboko community, FOMWAN runs a nursery and primary school that caters especially to children with hearing impairments.

“We go from home to home to bring out these challenged children and offer them free education in our school,” says Ishola, the group’s secretary. “Sometimes, we mix them with other physically fit children to integrate them into the community, where they can live without borders and improve their social lives.”

This outreach for children with disabilities has spread to northern states like Sokoto and Bauchi, with grant funding from the MacArthur Foundation.

In all, FOWMAN has 147 schools across the country, and where necessary, it relinquishes control of some to state governments. But it also has over 400 Islamic teaching centres across Muslim-majority northern Nigeria. 

A prevailing challenge is the gender imbalance in enrollments. Child marriage, which is religiously and culturally accepted in many northern Nigerian states, leads some parents to withdraw their young girls from school for marriage despite FOMWAN’s pleas. 

Additionally, some Muslim parents refuse to enrol their children in FOMWAN’s formal schools, insisting they only want their children to receive Islamic education.

Conversely, some non-Muslim parents in the community hesitate to enrol their children, fearing that FOMWAN, as an Islamic group, might influence their children with Islamic practices. FOMWAN, however, denies imposing Islamic teachings on Christian students.

While parents and students generally agree that FOMWAN schools are closing a critical gap, they also see room for improvement in maintenance.

Pointing to a block of classrooms, 16-year-old Sharon Yusuf, a Christian student at Oke Ode Comprehensive College, says, “That used to be our classroom, but the roof and windows are no longer in good condition. We are now using the examination hall. We would appreciate it if FOMWAN could help us and also plaster the other classrooms to make the school more attractive.”

This story was supported by the Centre for Religion and Civic Culture at the University of Southern California, through its global project on engaged spirituality.