Haideri says action against seminaries will harm education
28
KHUZDAR: Deputy Chairman Senate Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri said on Sunday that seminaries were providing free education to about five million male and female students across the country. He said any action against madressahs would have a negative impact on the country’s already poor educational structure.
Speaking at the ‘Protection of Religious Seminaries Conference’, Maulana Haideri said six million children were deprived of education across the country.
Take a look: Sharif calls for action against seminaries backing terrorism
Those who were talking about taking action against madressahs did not understand the fallout such an action on the educational structure of the country, he added.
The Senate deputy chairman says madressahs also provide modern education
The deputy chairman of the upper house of parliament rejected propaganda against seminaries. He said madressahs were providing not only religious education but also modern education.
He said those who opposed seminaries could not provide an alternative system which could provide free education to such a large number of students.
He said conspiracies against seminaries would be resisted with full force.
Maulana Haideri said he was making efforts to draw attention of the federal government to the problems of Balochistan.
Provincial chief of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl Maulana Faiz Mohammad Samalani, general secretary Sikandar Khan and JUI-F Sindh general secretary Maulana Arshad Mehmood Soomro also spoke at the well-attended conference.
Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2015
On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play
Read more
On DawnNews
Comments (28) Closed
May 18, 2015 09:33am
Is there any such thing as "education" in seminaries???
Recommend
0
May 18, 2015 09:44am
There needs to be an objective study on the % of population studied in madressahs and involved in terrorist activities or religious extremism vs the % living an educated peaceful life. Banning the seminaries becos most of the extremist elements in the society are educated in them is not a viable solution when a lot more of the population are peaceful as well while being educated in the same institutes.
Recommend
0
May 18, 2015 10:10am
Madrassas are giving islamic education. there should be balanced education on government level but unfortunately it is not..
On government level islamic topics are being abolished from curriculum.
Recommend
0
May 18, 2015 10:12am
@Erum You missed ! :). He said "modern education" and not just education. I don't know what is the need for 'modern education.' All that is needed is education in Mathematics to develop logical, analytical, problem solving abilities and Science. Even teaching science of one hundred years old will develop curiosity to explore. What is the fear? Next door, in India, people go to Temple praying for better grades, parents recite holy words before sending kids to exams and give them 'blessed' food and other symbols. These are Hindu. Muslim parents do similar rituals for their children.
Recommend
0
May 18, 2015 10:16am
Can Maulana Haideri give an idea of what he means by "free education". Does "free education" also includes science education of maths, physics, chemistry etc.also ?
There is no doubt that some madressahs are providing free religious education and for that they must be appreciated.
Recommend
0
May 18, 2015 10:25am
The quality of graduates seminaries are producing is enough to close them down, The poor pass out students are neither able to compete in religious arguments nor in the corporate world.
Recommend
0
May 18, 2015 10:35am
@Erum Your thinking is quite "extreme"
Recommend
0
May 18, 2015 11:20am
The man has a point. There has been a systematic destruction of the public education system which has given rise to 1) Private Education and 2)Madrassehs.
1) Private education industry is inflation proof and they charge exorbitant amount for education. Parents with 2-3 children can expect to pay anywhere from 40-75,000 rupees per month and there is afforded by less than 1 percent of people
2) Madrassahs enrolling 5 million students, have unfortunately been producing at best clerks. Quality education for the masses has been destroyed by successive governments. Has anyone checked the balance sheets of beaconhouse, city school and similar institutes.
Recommend
0
May 18, 2015 11:45am
Seminaries are destroying the future of Pakistan. Worst behavior kids come out of these seminaries. Must be banned absolutely!!
Recommend
0
May 18, 2015 12:01pm
The government has the powers, under the constitution to nationalize the madrassahs, and fix the compensation to be paid to the owners (if any exist!). It can then bring the syllabus in line with the national curriculum without disturbing the students!
Regarding funding for such a move, I think firstly the government can always realign its priorities, failing which there should be no shortage of international funding, considering that the move will achieve the goal of protecting the world from a (perceived?) scourge.
Recommend
0
May 18, 2015 12:30pm
While it can not be said for each and every madressah the fact is that many madaris do teach and spread hatred and brainwash the young students who then readily agree to become suicide bombers. Any action against such seminaries can not be termed as conspiracy. Moreover, many madaris do receive funding from abroad which is not simply as sympathy towards poor. The fund providers have a mission which they like to be accomplished by the clerics who are also paid for this service. Stern action against such clerics and madaris is a must... without which terrorism will never be controlled in full.
Recommend
0
May 18, 2015 12:44pm
Maulana Haideri knows absolutely zilch about a proper education as offered by countries that are truly prospering. It is indisputable (by rational minds) that the madressahs have to be done away with, which means the federal and state governments (that is the good citizens of Pakistan) have to provide alternative schools. It is also instructive that the maulana, like so many of his ilk, immediately resorts to threats (as paraphrased by the reporter) in saying "conspiracies against seminaries would be resisted with full force". Not the language of someone entrusted with educating the next generation of Pakistanis, yet indicative of the instructions coming out of madressahs.
Recommend
0
May 18, 2015 12:44pm
sadly what is being taught in our schools, colleges and universities also does not rank as education----it could be best stated as literacy and learning a skill---
the slandering of madrissahs is not new and has routes going back to pre-partition as then the british knew that only real danger was the educated muslims coming from these madrissahs (and not Aligarh university or other such institutions). therefore they started this campaign of belittling these madrissahs. we being brought up in universities just following their footsteps.
Recommend
0
May 18, 2015 01:15pm
@waseem Judging from the way you stereotype, you should be sent to school all over again....
Recommend
0
May 18, 2015 01:43pm
Children need facts and figures vai modern science. But they should not be taught in a way their belief systems are interpreted as modern science. We came from apes through evolution.
Recommend
0
May 18, 2015 01:52pm
@Mustafa supporting islamic seminaries and calling others " extreme" what an irony
Recommend
0
May 18, 2015 01:52pm
we need regulated Islamic universities instead of seminaries.
Recommend
0
May 18, 2015 01:57pm
@mm Very much true. It is however need to balance the education at both so called educational institutes and seminaries with proper system to minimize the gap.
Recommend
0
May 18, 2015 02:14pm
@mustafa wonder why there is a need for seminaries, why cannot our government provide proper education. After all it is their responsibility. Or is it intentional to keep them illiterate to maintain the safety for feudalism
Recommend
0
May 18, 2015 02:22pm
@waseem we need intro inspect it is not the seminaries that has destroyed your country.. it is the corruption. If the proper investment would have been done in education with dedication whether seminaries or schools thing would have been different today.
Recommend
0
May 18, 2015 02:25pm
We have to study the benifites and anamolies of this free education. How much role do these students play in our society? Is a big question.
Recommend
0
May 18, 2015 02:32pm
@Myword my words very well said. They just keep the blind eye on that issue.. billions of dollars were poured in the country to deliberately create those Mujahideen in most seminaries across Pakistan.. pal it was in some one's interest but not any more.. if our mentors would have spent just a couple of billions on schools and education . Pakistan would have been a better place today
Recommend
0
May 18, 2015 02:42pm
@Zia Taqdees thanks for your comments
madrissahs are also ranked between lets say--schools, colleges and universities--
please look at some famous jamias at Lahore and Karachi which are universities for that matter and look at the subjects being taught---one would be surprised---
for example I know of one such madrissah where their research on the appearance and sighting of moon is accepted by world renowned observatories and so on---
Recommend
0
May 18, 2015 03:09pm
Why do we need both systems of education (Madresah and Conventional) at the same time in our society ?
That is the reason we celebrate two eid-ul-fitr and eid-ul-azha in our country at the same time ?
It does not ended there, we have produced two mind sets at the top level in our society because of that school of thought.
Mr. Deputy Chairman, protecting your own interest in one thing and believing on the right path is another.
Recommend
0
May 18, 2015 04:37pm
It is the duty of the government to give science based education h to all the children in Pakistan.
Recommend
0
May 18, 2015 04:55pm
It is better for the children being educated in these seminaries to sit at home instead of being brain washed in the seminaries. Either give them a proper school education including all subjects or let them stay home. The seminaries do more harm than good.
Recommend
0
May 18, 2015 06:07pm
No role shoud be played by religious seminaries in general education except following syllabi provided by the ministry of education. The ministry of education if there is such an entity, should be guided by highly qualified, foreign educated intellectuals and professors. likes of Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy.
Recommend
0
May 18, 2015 06:10pm
@mustafa We have seen and suffered enough with the religious tilt in all aspects of Pakistani society, we are done with the brainwashing and narrow thinking brought in by these seminaries.
Recommend
0
