The 24th edition of the Annual National Qur’an recitation competition commenced in Gombe on Sunday.
Declaring the competition open, Gombe State’s Gov. Inuwa Yahaya said the state was happy to host this year’s edition because of the importance it attached to comprehensive education.
He said that his administration “declared a state of emergency in the education sector within four months’’ because it desired to add value to the sector at all levels.
Gov. Yahaya added that his administration had established more schools to improve the quality of education in the state and that the effort was yielding the desired results as many out-of-school children returned to schools.
“We have also registered 603 Tsangaya (Almajiri) schools with their teachers and will be supporting them too so as to reduce their challenges. We will create befitting accommodation for Tsangaya schools and their teachers,’’ he assured.
He added that the prioritisation of the education sector was the reason the state government always welcomed partnerships and supported any group in that regard.
Gov. Yahaya said that while youths should be given formal education, they should also be empowered to become productive and self-sufficient.
He appealed to youths to support government and religious leaders in their quest to ensure a better society for everyone.
HE also said that the Quranic recitation competition held a lot of benefits as the Quran contains solutions to everyday challenges.
In his remarks, Sheikh Muhammad Jingir, leader of Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah Wa’Ikamatis Sunnah, organiser of the competition, said it would equip the youth with the needed Quranic knowledge that would make them better individuals in the society.
Dateline Nigeria reports that the first edition of the competition held in 1998, while this year’s edition is expected to end on Dec. 5.
