Department of Psychiatry, College of Medical Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria Telephone:+2348034504689. Email:
Department of Disease Control and Prevention, African Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, African Union Commission.
West Afr J Med. 2024 Jun 28;41(6):699-707.
Almajiri is a word that describes a child sent far away from his parents to study the Quran under the tutelage and care of a Muslim scholar, also known as a Mallam. In recent times, the capacity of the Mallam to cater for these children has declined, leading them to beg on the streets for sustenance. Cognitive capacity has rarely been studied amongst this population. This study was designed to compare the intelligence quotients of Almajirai attending Quranic Schools and that of pupils attending public primary school in Zaria, Northwest Nigeria.
A comparative cross-sectional study design was employed to compare the intelligence quotients of 401 participants (200 Almajirai and 201 public primary school pupils). All participants were administered a socio-demographic questionnaire and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Fourth Version (WISC-IV).
Public primary school pupils performed significantly better than Almajirai on all administered subtests of the WISC-IV except arithmetic. The mean Full-Scale IQ score of Almajirai was significantly lower than that of public primary school pupils (60.30±11.49 vs. 70.12 ± 11.9, p< 0.001, 95% CI= -12.12-7.52). The intelligence quotient of Almajirai was associated with the age of the child and the father's level of education while that of public primary school pupils was associated with their current class in school.
Public primary school pupils performed better than Almajirai on intelligence tests indicating a need to reform Almajiri Education. It is recommended that the system be strengthened and its curriculum expanded to include other modules rather than its current restriction to religious education.
Almajiri 这个词描述的是一种儿童，他们被父母送到远方，在穆斯林学者（也称为 Malam）的监护和照顾下学习古兰经。最近，Malam 照顾这些孩子的能力下降了，导致他们在街上乞讨为生。很少有人研究过这个群体的认知能力。本研究旨在比较在古兰经学校就读的 Almajirai 和尼日利亚西北部扎里亚公立小学的学生的智商。
采用比较性横断面研究设计，比较 401 名参与者（200 名 Almajirai 和 201 名公立小学学生）的智商。所有参与者均接受社会人口学问卷和韦氏儿童智力第四版（WISC-IV）测试。
公立小学学生在 WISC-IV 的所有 administered 子测试中表现均优于 Almajirai，除了算术。Almajirai 的平均总智商得分明显低于公立小学学生（60.30±11.49 vs. 70.12 ± 11.9，p<0.001，95%CI=-12.12-7.52）。Almajirai 的智商与儿童年龄和父亲的教育水平有关，而公立小学学生的智商与他们目前所在的年级有关。
公立小学学生在智商测试中的表现优于 Almajirai，这表明需要改革 Almajiri 教育。建议加强该系统并扩大其课程，纳入其他模块，而不是目前仅限于宗教教育。
