Ibrahim Khalil

An Indonesian Islamic scholar and philanthropist, Dr Umi Waheedah Bint Abdul Rahman, has called for the adoption of a sustainable Waqf-based model to transform Almajiri education, tackle poverty and equip vulnerable children with vocational and entrepreneurial skills.

KANO FOCUS reports that Waheedah made the call on Friday, while delivering a public lecture titled, “Sustainable Community Empowerment through Waqf: Experiences, Lessons, and Prospects,” at the CBN Centre of Excellence, Bayero University, Kano.

According to a statement by Bayero University Kano’s Director of Public Affairs, Lamara Garba, the scholar shared her experience of establishing Islamic boarding schools in Indonesia that combine free education with vocational training, entrepreneurship and income-generating investments.

She explained that Waqf, an Islamic charitable endowment, could serve as a sustainable economic mechanism for financing education, creating employment and reducing poverty when supported by productive investments and effective management.

Participants at the occasion

Waheedah recalled that she and her late husband established the free Islamic boarding school initiative in 1998 during a period of economic and social hardship, with the objective of providing disadvantaged children with access to education and essential social services.

The schools provide free education, food, accommodation and healthcare, offering a model for addressing multiple dimensions of poverty while protecting the dignity and future of vulnerable children.

According to her, the initiative had expanded to accommodate approximately 23,000 students by 2010, covering levels from early childhood education to university. Following her husband’s death that year, the programme was streamlined to serve about 15,000 students.

She said taking over the institution presented enormous financial challenges, including accumulated debts and unpaid staff salaries.

To sustain the schools and meet outstanding obligations, Waheedah disclosed that she sold her personal jewellery and vehicles while preserving the Waqf assets that supported the institution.

The experience, she said, reinforced the importance of protecting endowed assets while managing them productively to generate sustainable income.

The institution’s investments include rice fields, rice-processing factories, coffee farms, timber plantations, a bread factory and other agricultural and commercial ventures.

She disclosed that the organisation, which initially operated 25 business units, eventually expanded to 73.

Waheedah argued that Waqf should not be regarded merely as a channel for charitable donations but as an economic system capable of generating the resources required to sustain social services over the long term.

She explained that combining Islamic endowments with social entrepreneurship, sound business management and vocational education had enabled the institution to finance educational services while equipping students with practical skills for independent living.

The model integrates agriculture, food production, energy, water management and waste recycling to reduce operating costs, generate additional revenue and provide practical learning opportunities.

Its businesses include rice processing, noodle production, soya milk manufacturing, farming, fisheries, livestock and poultry production. The organisation also operates a poultry enterprise with 10,000 laying chickens and produces animal feed to support its agricultural activities.

On environmental sustainability, the scholar explained that food waste was converted into larvae for feeding poultry and fish, while discarded plastics, eggshells, sweet wrappers and other materials were recycled into yarn, crafts, ornaments and paving blocks.

The initiative’s philosophy, she said, was captured in its motto: “There’s no trash, but cash.”

Students also participate in producing items such as caps, soap, socks and other goods for institutional use and commercial sale. Some products, including traditional caps known as *kofia*, have reached international markets such as Senegal.

Beyond generating income, the activities expose students to production, marketing, business management and entrepreneurship.

Waheedah said the institution provides vocational training in agriculture, fisheries, sewing, beauty-product production and other trades, enabling learners to combine formal and religious education with practical competencies.

She stressed that the ultimate objective was to prepare young people to become job creators rather than depend solely on paid employment, charitable donations or government assistance.

The scholar urged Nigerian communities, particularly in Northern Nigeria, to adapt the model to local circumstances as part of efforts to address the challenges facing Almajiri education.

She maintained that communities could make meaningful progress without relying exclusively on government intervention by organising their resources, skills and assets around clearly defined development priorities.

Waheedah also disclosed that the organisation receives support from the Central Bank of Indonesia to establish businesses within Islamic boarding schools across the country, particularly in drinking-water production, waste recycling and biogas generation from cow waste.

She expressed interest in promoting similar partnerships in Nigeria to support Almajiri schools through collaboration among financial institutions, universities and Islamic organisations.

Under the proposed arrangement, she explained, financial institutions could provide funding, universities could contribute research and technical expertise, while Islamic organisations could coordinate implementation within their communities.

Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano, Professor Haruna Musa, represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics), Professor Ahmad Muhammad Tsauni, said the model offered opportunities to address poverty, educational disadvantage, unemployment and other social challenges.

He noted that Nigeria continued to grapple with out-of-school children, youth unemployment, orphanhood and the displacement of vulnerable populations, stressing that Waqf could provide sustainable responses when managed with transparency, accountability and a clear development strategy.

Musa said the university would collaborate with Waheedah by providing postgraduate fellowships for the study of her development model and exploring institutional partnerships to promote research, knowledge exchange and practical application.

He also disclosed that the university had concluded plans to offer the guest lecturer a pro bono appointment to engage with students virtually and share her experience.

The chairman of the occasion, Dr Sirajo Salisu, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Summit Bank Limited, pledged support for outstanding graduates and offered professional mentorship to students.

Salisu said the bank planned to provide automatic employment over the next five years to the best graduating male and female students in Islamic Banking and Finance or Economics, subject to the university’s decision on the selection arrangement.

He also offered to engage voluntarily with undergraduate and postgraduate students every two weeks to share professional experience and prepare them for future career opportunities.

In her contribution, Professor Binta Tijjani Jibril, a former Director of the International Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance, advocated an integrated Almajiri education system that combines Qur’anic instruction with vocational training, entrepreneurship and professional education.

She said school-based enterprises could generate income, reduce operating costs and equip learners with practical skills, while stronger governance and community participation would improve the sustainability of Almajiri institutions.

Jibril also identified digital and financial technologies as opportunities for mobilising resources, strengthening accountability and extending the model to communities with limited resources.

Similarly, the Director-General of Economic and Social Reforms Coordination in Gombe State, Dr Abdullahi Abubakar Lamido, called for practical measures to translate Waqf principles into sustainable solutions for education, healthcare, employment generation and community development.

Lamido noted that Islamic history offered examples of charitable endowments being used to meet public needs, urging individuals, families and communities to organise their charitable contributions around specific development priorities.

The discussions highlighted the potential of Waqf-based investments, vocational education and institutional partnerships to provide a sustainable framework for reforming Almajiri education and expanding opportunities for disadvantaged children in Nigeria.