THIS is with reference to your editorial ‘Madressah reforms’ (Dec 9). It is perhaps a repetition of many articles and editorials written on this issue in the last decade or so. This shows the importance of the issue.

Even if we presume that 50 per cent of the 2.5 million madressah students join the professions of their parents. There are more than a million madressah students who are only fit to be prayer leaders. This means that for every 165 Pakistani we are producing one maulana per annum. In sharp contrast to this we produce one doctor for every 3,400 Pakistanis!

All the madressahs belong to one sect or the other and preach why only their sect is right while the others do not follow Islamic teachings. This fact alone contributes to hatred against other sects.

The curriculum of these madressahs is outdated and teaches no flexibility according to the changing times because they are stuck in the seventh century narrative. Most poor people send their children to these madressahs because they provide free education, boarding, lodging, food and even clothes.

On the other hand there is not a single boarding house which offers the same free facilities as the madressah to the poor. What is needed is a parallel system of education replicating the madressah model minus their curriculum. These institutions should provide modern education and at the same time vocational training after secondary education.

The government has enough resources to provide education where tolerance and respect for human rights with scientific reasoning is taught. At the same time these institutes should prepare students to become more productive human resources of the country.

Babar Ayaz
Karachi

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2017