A new college is offering free education for all out-of-school children in the Dikwa Local Government Area of Borno State.

Registration for the Al-Ansar Islamic College – funded by Mohammed Kyari Dikwa, the founder and president of the Al–Ansar Foundation – opened in January and classes began in February.

RNI reporter Rawa Bukar Tela spoke to the school’s vice-principal, Bukar Malam Audu Dikwa, who said the college was for all children, particularly those out-of-school kids who roamed the streets of Dikwa because their parents could not afford to educate them.

He said the main aim of the school was to promote all-round education and reduce the number of children who had no access to learning.

“Since registration began in January and classes started in February, already many parents have registered their children and they keep coming.”

He said the school was free to all children.

The foundation has been offering food assistance, money and relief materials to the poor for some time but Kyari Dikwa had decided to support the education needs in the community, saying that was what they needed most.

“There are more than 15 classes in the school for pupils in primary level and two more for junior secondary level – more levels will be opened for secondary pupils as the school progresses,” Audu Dikwa said.

The college provides Western and religious education and subjects include English, mathematics and Arabic, among others.

“We want to ensure children receive sound, all-round knowledge, so they are able to grow as educated individuals and go on to tertiary studies that will give them opportunities to get decent jobs and remove them from the cycle of poverty in which they now live,” he said.

“Parents keep bringing in their children to be registered, coming to the school and even following us to our houses. They are desperate for their children to receive schooling so that they can go further in life.”

Audu Dikwa said parents did not need to feel discouraged if their children had not been registered yet. Instead, he urged all parents to continue to enrol their children in the school.

A parent, Hassan Modu, said: “At first, I did not expect much but my son has come to me to help him with assignments. I soon realised that he is reading well and he is doing well at the school. I am grateful to God and the school founder that my child is at last receiving an education that will last him in good stead.”

• The foundation, in collaboration with Books for Africa, announced in this month that it had distributed more than 20,000 books worth US$300,000 – for nursery, primary and secondary pupils and tertiary students – to 23 institutions across Nigeria. The books covered a range of subjects.

Kyari Dikwa said the gesture was to complement government efforts at providing quality education to those who could not afford it.

He was quoted in the NorthEast Star as saying: “The Al-Ansar Foundation believes in the power of education in all ramifications. It is one of the cardinal objectives we relentlessly and vigorously pursue in our quest to serve humanity. This belief is hinged on the fact that with access to proper and relevant education, citizens, especially those who cannot afford it, can have a guaranteed future that supports the sustainability of any nation.”