From Pakistan’s birth till the present day, Madrassahs have been launched throughout the country as the pivots of Islamic education and as the origin for bringing forth the future generations of scholars of the religion. Today, they are the principal disseminators of education in areas where people are powerless to afford any other form of schooling for their children. Almost all of these Madrassahs impart religious knowledge only, creating a colossal vacuum in the stratum of students of private and government schools and those of Madrassahs. While children on one side speak and write fluent English, are adept at general knowledge and world affairs, excel in scientific subjects and have bright future prospects, the children on the other side do not even have a feel of the same. The void, at present, is getting wider.

Are Reforms Necessary?

I used to live fairly close to a Madrassah and have observed the functional course of many of them. Scanty donations of the nearby people and those who perform their prayers at the mosque contribute in their operation. At many places, such donations are scarce and the children have a below par standard of lodging and food. Other than religious schooling, the children are devoid of any functional knowledge. As they grow up, the lone vocation they are suitable for is an ‘imaam’ at a mosque or to teach the recitation of Holy Quran to other children.

Religious education is, beyond suspicion, mandatory. It is crucial to identify, however, that the yield of Madrassahs are a hampered folk in an increasingly competitive, scientific and sentient society. Moreover, Madrassahs of late have been heavily censured for advocating an imprecise or, as the term has evolved, an “extremist” view of Islam. And that, in many cases, is correct. Children talk of Jihad more often than of any other fundamentals of Islam. I once asked an 11-year-old Madrassah student what the greatest deed of all was. “Killing Americans and the white people,” was the reply. Arguably, even Islamic education is not serving its required rationale in certain cases.

Considering that a massive number of children have no alternative but Madrassahs for education, the need to improve the quality of such institutions is, by all means, indispensable.


What to Do and How to Do It

The Citizen’s Foundation (TCF) was established by six businessman in the mid 1990s with the objective of imparting education to Pakistan’s poorest and has so far built 140 schools countrywide with plans to increase the number to 1,000. Goth Dhani Baksh, a suburb near Karachi’s airport, was once a core of Madrassah activities, particularly those recruiting militants by enticing the poor with no awareness of future prospects. At present, schools run by TCF provide uniforms, libraries, computer and science laboratories, subsidized tuition fees and anomalously, co-education. To raise funds and cover running costs, the TCF has expanded its chapters offshore, through a network of Pakistani deportees from the oil-rich Persian Gulf region, parts of Europe including the UK, the US and Canada. In localities where a TCF school has been set up, it is presently highly unlikely that a Madrassah will be established, or that students will leave their TCF school for an alternative. "One of our successes is that students who come to TCF know that all their needs are going to be met by the foundation," says Salma Majid, a TCF school principal.

TCF and other such organizations are totally commendable. Although they are helping in creating a just social order, Madrassahs cannot be entirely overlooked; there is a lot of religious fervor and ethnic regard associated with these establishments. We can, however, take a leaf out of TCF and employ it with the Madrassahs.

A proper curriculum
A strong, up-to-date curriculum is the foundation for stronger education as it defines the very premises for this grand activity; the wider, the better. While curriculum in Government schools is broadly disparaged, it is nonetheless constructive. Private schools provide a much better curriculum. In Madrassahs, however, curricula are extinct.

At least the subjects of English, Mathematics and General Science need to be readily introduced in Madrassahs and their teaching should be guaranteed to meet the progressively novel demands of today’s world.

Proficient Teachers
Even a proper curriculum is not of much use if not taught suitably; or worse, if not taught at all. It is rather implausible that the current leaders of Madrassahs can teach these subjects well. New teachers are strictly in need. But how do you draw the teachers to start teaching in Madrassahs?

I mentioned TCF earlier. Mrs Majid, who joined such a TCF school, had actually quit her job at a large school in the heart of Karachi, attracted not only by the success of the TCF experiment but also by the support extended to teachers as well as students. She and her colleagues, for example, are picked up and dropped off by school vans every day. The keywords are “incentives” and “support”. Many teachers would readily quit teaching in private schools if specified a job of teaching at Government schools because of the resulting advantages and security. Such incentives, if rendered at the Madrassah level by the Government can attract new teachers. In a country where unemployment is on the rise, a bundle of unemployed are eager to take up low-paid jobs, including teaching.

Supervision
Th e reforms suggested above may inadvertently appear too basic. And that IS the dilemma: the basics have been ignored and forgotten. Implementing these reforms rapidly and over a wide scale would take some doing.

The Government, of course has to be dynamically involved. The responsibility of providing the required resources and finances for such operations descends primarily on the Government’s shoulders. A modest increase in budget allocated annually to Education can serve a grand purpose in this regard. Reforms like providing free education at primary level have indeed been carried out but these reforms need to be interactive with one another to form the bigger picture.

Introducing and announcing educational reforms is not enough; in fact, it is only the beginning. Once initiated, these reforms should be seen through their execution with invariable checks and updates to ensure success at every stage. This is where the local Government bodies can come into effect. The Nazims and the related staff can watch over the evolution of Madrassahs of their localities and ensure smooth sailing. The local public can also participate, incurring a pressure on the Madrassahs and the local bodies to perform consistently.

Other Reforms
The above elemental reforms are, in an extensive sense, the only vital reforms needed to bridge the gap and form a just social order. Any other reforms you can think of somehow fall within the three categories.

Education, however, is an issue of global concern. It concerns every citizen, every countryman and, in fact, affects the development of the same. Any educational reform cannot, in general, be brought about by a single stratum of society; everyone will have to contribute. The awareness and the will to move forward have to be instilled in the public at large.