A Case for Government Funded Madrassas

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.
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.
Central Darul Hafiz madrassa provides an interesting case-study and a model that is perhaps both culturally and financially feasible. As it employs existing infrastructure, minimal investment is required for rebuilding. The rebuilt madrassa also benefits from existing enrollment, little competition, and undermines the arguments that exploit religion to drive people away from modern education. On the other hand, new policies and measures will be required to regulate the rebuilt madrassa and to avoid losing its control again to some other group. It is also not clear how much a government-funded madrassa will be trusted by the public especially since they are bound to come under similar attacks by extremist groups as they lose their control.