Public education infrastructure

There is little if any public education infrastructure in many rural areas of Pakistan. With poverty widespread in these areas, people have little choice but to send their children to traditional madrassas that provide extra benefits of shelter and food along with the basic religious education. Extremists have exploited this poverty, lack of public education facilities, and the strong public demand for religious education to their advantage. They have used these unregulated madrassas to propagate their own brand of religion and further their agendas. As they have gained influence and power in these areas, they have started using religion as an argument against modern education. Religion is a powerful tool especially for a predominantly illiterate populace and these arguments, which can now even be heard on local television channels, have started to gain traction with the public.

modernization of madrassa system

Their are around 6 million madrassa students in the region but we can not deny that their is a element of terrorism in it. The modernization and nationalization of the whole madrassa system can be a great success in eliminating terrorism and educating the masses of the madrassa students. Government can take several steps in reorganizing and rehsaping this system, first of all, each madrassa should be registered with the Govt. Govt should set a specific criteria for the teachers in the madrassas, e.g minium bachelors or masters and the a particular degree to be called as maulvi or mufti. Another step Govt can take is by prohibiting the organized unions of students in madrasas which later on turn in to religeious groups and modify religeon according to their desire. Govt should record each strudent enrolled in or out, so they can trach if they want to. Like in ordinary schools their should be proper syllabus pattern which has to be follow by all madrassas. these are the few steps by whcih we can reorganize and rehsape the madrassa system and control the negative aspect and propoganda of some groups to create misconception about Islam.In my opinion, the laws of supply and demand also apply to education and there is clearly a demand for religious education in Pakistan. The absence of regulated institutes to fulfill this demand creates a void that is currently filled by the network of unchecked madrassas.

Present scenario of madrassas system in Pakistan

The article I’m talking about is on the present scenario of madrassas system in Pakistan and in this I have also written about how many problems are faced by the madrassas to boast their level up in the present situation of Pakistan. Because everyone knows about the madrassas system that it is provided the education of terrorism not the education of Islam. The main example of this is The Red Mosque, as appears from the Lal Masjid episode, religious institutes have become a hub of extremism and terrorism, that the government has closed its eyes to bring any reforms in the working and setup of Deeni Madaris, and that neither have any changes been made in the curricula taught in these institutes nor the attitudes of the students changed therein by imparting general and skill-oriented education to enable them to play a positive role in the development of the country. But in the eyes of others they are spreading terrorism. The fact is that ever since the creation of Pakistan the two parallel systems of education have been in place in the country: i.e., general education through educational institutions, colleges and universities, and religious education, through Deeni Madaris in the private sector. Both systems of education are rendering valuable social service for the uplift of the country. The period from the Seventies saw a rapid expansion in Madaris network and in their division on sectarian lines. So due to the thinking of people the Madrassas are degrading day by day because people are not going there to get the education of Islam, the major reasons of all these problems is that the madrassas are not affiliated with any organization or registered. The first most things are done by the madrassas is that to register from the government organization like HEC or others to reduce the misconception of terrorism in madrassas. A majority of the madrassas get the required funds from local businessmen and traders, along with religious foundations, charities and Pakistanis living abroad. The Education Ministry says it introduced the "latest computer technology" to 30 madrassas and paid the salaries of 950 teachers on a three-year scheme. This revolution will be very helpful in the prosperous of the madrassas system in Pakistan. People send their children to get the Islamic education as well as technological subjects which were recently started in most madrassas by the Education Ministry of Pakistan.

In search of madrassa reform By I. M. MOHSIN

Since the advent of Pakistan, the madrassas were, generally, doing a good job – imparting balanced religious education. Zia on seizing power through a coup saw that his only chance of success lay in exploiting Islam. The conduct of certain political elements in those fateful days would remain an enigma. It is axiomatic that national interest was not the priority of the motley crowd. No wonder they supported the usurper adding another confounding chapter to our decrepit history.

The reform of the madrassa system, long overdue, stands out as a crying need. It is difficult to deny the unique contribution of genuine madrassas to our religious ethos during the period of the British Empire in India. Such institutions lifted the morale of the downtrodden Muslims after they were rendered pariahs in their own country after losing power. Their mission of spreading religious education with a positive interpretation of the Islamic tenets after the disastrous experiences of 1857 produced stalwarts like Sir Syed Ahmed, Allama Iqbal, the Quaid-i-Azam etc. Unfortunately as we have lagged behind in achieving our educational targets since 1947, our society tends to be bogged down in ignorance and dogmatism.

Interview taken by Arab Tv