KARACHI, July 29: Scholars and eminent figures representing the government, religious schools (madressahs), intelligentsia and media, at a round-table seminar, stressed on a national policy to bring modern and religious educational institutions closer to each other. The policy, they said, should be formulated in consultation with all stakeholders, including the government.
The seminar on Madaris: Towards a National Policy Framework was organized jointly by the National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA), Karachi, and the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad, at NIPA here on Thursday.
People from all walks of life, including madressahs, universities, media, and government departments, were among those who attended the seminar and expressed their views on the parameters of the proposed national policy and on bringing madressahs into national mainstream.
The speakers maintained that in addition to introducing modern subjects in religious schools' curricula, basic but comprehensive religious education should also be imparted at English-medium educational institutions. This, they believed, would greatly help in ending disparity between the two systems of education.
Speaking at the inaugural session of the seminar, Federal Secretary Religious Affairs Vakil Ahmed Khan dispelled the impression that the initiative of introducing changes in madressahs' curricula had been prompted by foreign pressure or there was any political objective behind the move.
"The initiative has been taken keeping in view various factors, including unacceptability of students studied from these institutions in the society and lack of employment opportunities," he said, adding that disparity in mainstream system of education and religious education was badly hampering national progress and growth.
According to him, passed out students of religious institutions often face difficulties in getting jobs in public and private sector organizations, which results in widening of gap between them and those who have studied in schools and colleges.
"Provision of modern education at religious schools will enable their students to compete with the those who study in schools, colleges and varsities and earn their livelihood easily," he said.
Nothing is being imposed on the religious schools. Rather, seminars, workshops and other modes of discussion are aimed at making the managements of such schools understand the present-day requirements, besides helping them take decisions in this regard, Mr Khan explained.
In addition, he added, the other suggestion regarding provision of religious education at English-medium schools was also aimed at bringing their students closer to those having studied in Madressahs in order to bridge the gap between the two, he added.
Director General of the IPS, Islamabad, told the participants that it was the fourth of the five seminars series. The earlier three had been held in Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar whereas the fifth would be held in Quetta in coming days. The concept, he added, was to bring all stakeholders at one place to evolve a consensus on the issue.
Presenting his paper in the second session of the seminar, Mehmood Shaam, said that the change, being introduced in the policy towards religious schools, was an initiative taken by this government but there was no guarantee that the next governments would follow suit.
"From 1979 to 1999, we established madressahs in the entire country under government support to produce Mujahideen on US demand and when US felt that it did not need Mujahideen anymore, we started killing them on Washington's pressure."
He was of the view that Washington wanted modification in madressahs' curricula but there would be no impact of such an initiative because extremists could also be produced at universities and other institutions of modern education.
"George Bush, Collin Powel, Rumsfeld and other American officials are also extremists who have made lives of millions of people around the world miserable," he remarked.
Renowned newsman and a former professor at the University of Karachi Mateenur Rahman Murtaza pointed out that a debate on the role of religious schools was not a new trend. British rulers, he said, had also been trying to woo ulema who could validate their moves and decisions.
"We saw two systems of education running parallel to each other when the British entered the subcontinent. It was the British rulers which forced madressahs to restrict their role to provision of religious education only," he said, adding that earlier, madressahs had been producing scientists, economists and experts in almost all fields.
Muslims ruled over different regions of the world for centuries. They had been getting any expert, required to run their affairs, from these madressahs. Director General of NIPA, Karachi, Badarul Islam, journalist Sajjad Mir, and Dr Ahsanul Haq of the Department of Arabic, University of Karachi, also spoke on the occasion. -PPI
