KARACHI: Madaris to get financial aid under ADB project
By Mukhtar Alam
KARACHI, Feb 19: The Sindh government has decided to extend financial support and other facilities to the madressahs, enabling them to impart modern day education, side-by-side religious studies to their students.
Official sources said the Sindh Education Department with the financial assistance of the Asian Development Bank, under the Decentralizing Elementary Education Project (DEEP), would be facilitating one madressah in each district of the province so that these could be made model madressah schools.
While the government emphasis would be to provide madressah students the modern day education, along with the religious education, the madressahs selected would be free to function independently and there would be no government regulation at all.
“We don’t want to interfere in the existing curriculum of madressahs or any other functions there, but would call for inclusion of subjects, like mathematics, science, computer science and social studies as well, informed a Sindh education department official.
Under the DEEP, the education department would invite applications soon from madressahs desiring to produce fully conversant students.
The government would select one madressah from each district, which, in addition to the textbooks, could also be provided with teachers, with the objective that the model madressah school students could get a Class-VIII certificate, added the source.
The Sindh government is also considering providing financial assistance in the shape of annual grant to the madressahs to improve the quality of education.
The government would be allocating Rs 2.5bn in its budget under the ADP in its next budget for the purpose, said a source in the department.
The government intends to give honourable grant to madressahs so that they could be able to improve the standard of education and equip their students with modern knowledge as well.
Madressahs would be encouraged in implementing essential subject education, including that of information technology as well, gradually.
A government official mentioned that some of the madressahs had already started providing technical and science education to their students, while a few of those were also sending up their students for educational boards examinations, which was commendable.
“We would not only bear the expenses incurred on students at the madressahs, but would also be extending other facilities like, computers and other equipment”, the official said.
