The main goal of the two major types of madrasa education in Bangladesh – Qawmi and Alia – is to make the students proficient in Islamic history, religion, heritage, culture, language and customs.

In the Qawmi madrasa education system, which has the larger number of students in the country, the sole focus is learning about the religion. As a result, they do not develop any critical thinking skills and are unable to enrol further into highly specialized subjects such as medicine, science and engineering for masters degree.

The Alia madrasa education system was introduced to produce skilled graduates by providing a unified education with religious knowledge. In 1987, humanities and science were introduced in their curriculum.

At the graduate and post-graduate levels, Alia madrasa students are taught specialized subjects such as Arabic literature, Hadith and the Quran.
 

What is in the Qawmi syllabus?

The Qawmi madrasa education system has six levels. The pre-primary level is called Maktab Hefzul Quran where children learn to recite and memorize the Quran.

The second level, Ebtedayee, is primary schooling where children are taught to read and write in Arabic, Urdu and Persian. They are also taught Bangla, English and mathematics briefly.

After 10 years of learning, the students sit for the Mutawassitah (SSC) examination and then the HSC level exams.

The students who complete these two stages learn about the Quran and read accompanying explanations such as the Hadith, Islamic law, Islamic philosophy and Islamic history.

They also read Arabic, Persian and Urdu classics, according to “Political Economy of Madrassa Education in Bangladesh: Genesis, Growth, and Impact,” a research work by Abul Barkat.

A small number of students from those madrasas study until the honours and masters level.
 

Qawmi madrasas have recently made some minor changes to their syllabus, but they are not sufficient. Their scholars should make more changes to the syllabus to be significantly updated.”
Jahirul Islam, assistant professor, Arabic department, DU

 
In the past, degrees conferred by the Qawmi system lacked accreditation or official recognition. However, the government recently moved to recognize the Qawmi degrees after most of these madrasas were brought under the privately-run Befaqul Madarisil Arabia Bangladesh education board.

Even then, they are mostly given a religion-based education; in their Dawra-e-Hadith (post-graduate) level, the highest level of education in the Qawmi system, the students are only taught elaborately on the Hadith.

In the two-year degree, which has been given the same status as general education’s masters degree, the students learn Sahih al-Bukhari, a collection of Hadith compiled by Imam Muhammad al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, a collection of Hadith compiled by Imam Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj al-Naysaburi, and some other Hadiths.

Analyzing the syllabus, it was found that although the whole education system – other than the Quran and Hadith in various stages beginning from the primary level – contains subjects such as language, mathematics, science, economics, political science, history and philosophy, these topics are only taught on surface level to give the students just a minimum idea.

However, political science, philosophy and history are taught from a religious angle. On some levels, science education is absent and other non-religion subjects are vastly neglected.

As an example, the syllabus, formulated by the Befaqul Madarisil Arabia Bangladesh from preschool to Class VIII, does not have science studies. Almost all of the books taught in these classes, which are formulated by the board, are based on the Quran and the Arabic language.

Apart from Arabic, Bangla, mathematics and English, the students are also taught Urdu in Class II. The Urdu book named “Urdu ka Qaida,” which is meant to teach the students Urdu alphabets, is published by Anjuman-i-Himayat-i-Islam of Lahore, Pakistan.

In Class II, the students are taught on primary ideas of geography and sociology and the main focus is on Diniyat and Tajbid, Islamic Fiqh and Tahzeeb.

Bangla and English grammar have been added to the Class III syllabus along with other subjects. There, Urdu is taught from another book from the same Pakistan publisher. Apart from this, Persian has been added at Class V.

In this education system, the history of Bangladesh is absent in Classes VI, VII and VIII syllabuses. While the syllabus of preschool, Class I and Class II has no history lessons, Class III has a 50-mark course on history, and Classes IV and V also have one book each for 50-mark final exam on history.
In Class VI, from where lower secondary level starts, students are taught “Tareekh Ul Islam,” a 251-page book on Islamic history written in Urdu by Shaykh Muhammad Mian.

In Class VII, students are taught “Seerat Khatim Ul Ambiya” by Mufti Muhammad Shafi, also in Urdu. In Class VIII, students are taught “Tareekh Millat Part 1 – Khilafat-e-Rashida” which is based on Indian Islamic movements.

In the two-year secondary education level, the history of Bangladesh is also absent. The syllabus does not have the history of the Sub-continent, but includes the history of Khilafat-e-Banu Umayya, Khilafat-e-Abbasiya (Abbasid Caliphate).

In Class 10, they are taught the history of Khilafat Usmania, Fatimid Caliphate and Khilafat-e-Banu Umayya.

At the higher secondary level, students are taught about the Indian Sub-continent’s history for 100 marks in Class XI. In honours second year, they are taught about Deoband movement, history, tradition and their contribution.

Jahirul Islam, assistant professor of Arabic department in Dhaka University, said the syllabus of Qwami madrasas is formulated by themselves. The authorities of the madrasas or their education board do not take suggestions from the government or educationists. This education is not sufficient to cope with the world and daily life.

“They have recently made some minor changes, but they are not sufficient. Their scholars should make more changes to the syllabus to be significantly updated,” he added.

What do students learn in Alia madrasa?

Analyzing the syllabus of Alia madrasa education system, it was found that at the general department, students are taught Islamic studies, social sciences and arts. It includes the Quran, Arabic, Islamic history,  and information and communications technology (ICT).

At the science department, they are taught Islamic studies and physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology and ICT. The Mujabbid section teaches Tajbid along with other general subjects.

The science and social science students have to learn four courses on the Quran, Hadith, Islamic laws and Arabic along with the sciences and social science subjects.

The science department have students all the way up to higher secondary level, and at Dakhil and Alim levels, it does not have business studies.

The students have to pass five stages in the 16-year education period from Ebtedayee to Kamil, which is equivalent to Class I to masters in the general education system.

At the Ebtedayee (primary) level, teachers emphasize reading and memorizing the Quran. The other subjects are fundamentals of Islam, Arabic, Bangla, mathematics, history, geography and general science.

At the Dakhil (secondary) level, students are still made to learn the reading and memorizing of the Quran along with the explanations of Quranic verses. At this stage, students are also taught on Islamic philosophy, Islamic law and theories, their usages and Arabic.

At the Alim level, which is equivalent to the higher secondary education, students can choose either the sciences or the arts. In both the streams, students are taught the Quran and Hadith, Islamic law, Sharia law, succession law and the history of Islam.

In the arts department, they learn about Arabic and Persian language, while in the science department, they are taught physics, chemistry and other subjects.

At the Fazil (honours) level, students are taught in the arts and science subjects separately. In the Kamil (masters) level, the students are taught only religion. They get a specialized education on Hadith, Tafsir, Islamic law and Arabic literature.

“Till 2008, the Madrasa Education Board formulated syllabus and conducted the Fazil and Kamil degrees exams. Since 2009, the Islamic University in Kushtia took over from them,” said Prof AKM Saif Ullah, chairman of Bangladesh Madrsasa Education Board in Dhaka. “Later in 2015, the responsibilities went to the Arabic University.”

He claimed that the Alia madrasa system is modern and subjects such as science and IT has been included.

Jahirul Islam, assistant professor of the Arabic department in Dhaka University, however, thinks there is still scope to modernize the Alia system.

This article was first published on Dhaka Tribune

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The majority of madrasa graduates, who belong to the Qawmi madrasa stream, believe that they do not need much education applicable in this life and what they learn is oriented to the hereafter.

As a result, their career path is also exclusively connected to the religious teaching, preaching and rituals.

This core religious population come from 39612 Qawmi madrasas across the country, with 5,247,660 students studying at different levels, according to a research published in 2011 by Professor Abul Barkat.

As the career path of this large number of students are limited to religion based professions as a whole, the job field for madrasa educated students is narrower comparing to that of the general education students.

The main reason behind the narrow career opportunities is that they are not taught the basic skill set needed for mainstream jobs.

The other portion of population in madrasa education are exposed to a blend of religion and general education which may provide students with both religion-based and general career opportunities. These are the Alia madrasas. Those students have better career prospects, but not as good as the general education students.

The government recognized Alia madrasa system has approximate 20,000 institutions of four million students while the government itself runs six of them. These madrasas follow the curriculum and syllabus framed by an education commission constituted by the government.

The Qawmi madrasas, which have the largest number of students among the institutions of religion education streams have their own syllabus, books, which are not recognized by the government. They do not offer government recognized degrees, except the ‘Dawra-e-Hadith’ which has been given equivalent status to a post graduate degree very recently.

In the past, Quami students could switch to the Alia system or the general system in secondary level to get access to the general field’s job. But, after the government introduced the PSC/PEC and JSC/JDC examination, they lost the chance of switching after class five.

Professor Dr. Abdul Kadir of Arabic department of Dhaka University observed that the Qawmi syllabus could not be transformed into a time-appropriate one as the authorities of the madrasas, which have been run privately, do not want their system to be reformed or interfered with by the government.

“As a result, over the years, this system has remained untouched and unrecognized”, he said.

Career options for Qawmi  students are limited 

The philosophy of Qawmi targets life after death. They gather thorough knowledge on Quran and Sunnah to lead life accordingly and get peace in heaven. They believe in living a simple life on earth with minimum requirements, and thus education and skills which are useful on earth is vastly neglected there.

“The objectives of Qawmi madrasa education and general education system is totally different. The people who want to do the work of Allah learn at the madrasa education system,” said Mawlana Rafiqul Alam, principal, Monshipara Hafijiya Madrasa and Eyatimkhana, Gazipur.

Students may earn a livelihood by providing home tuition to students of general stream, or adults who lack fundamental knowledge in Islam like the five-time prayers, reading Quran etc, he said.

“They want to serve Islam and live Islam. After finishing a number of stages, they start teaching at the madrasas, preaching Islam or conducting prayers at the mosques,” said Abdullah, once a Qawmi madrasa student, now a graduate of the Dhaka University.
 

Photo: Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune
 

He said that when he was a student there, he saw a small portion of them opting to enter the Alia madrasa.

A few of the Qawmi students after finishing madrasa education go abroad for higher degrees in Middle Eastern countries. They become Islamic scholars. Some stay abroad and others come back.

“This number is low as in the Qawmi system as students find it hard to complete all classes. It is not easy to become a full-fledged scholar. A larger portion of students stop education before they finish even the secondary level,” he said.
 

What do the Qwami students do for a living?

Teachers and students said, working as an imam, muezzin or a khadem at mosques or teaching in madrasas is common among them. A small number of them switch to small businesses for a secure source of income, as religion-based jobs are very poorly paid.

For example, the duty of an Imam is to lead namaz and the muezzin is to recite the call to prayers five times a day. Apart from a profession they do this out of religious duty.

These people are paid from the mosque’s fund which is raised by pious Muslims and influential people.

In cities and towns on average, Imams’ and Khatibs’ monthly remuneration is between Tk five to 15 thousands. Muazzin get a maximum Tk ten thousand and Khadems Tk four to five thousand.

In the villages they are even lower paid as the mosque committees’ fund is small. In some villages they are paid a maximum Tk1,000 monthly. Some Imam and Muazzins just get paddy which are collected from the villagers. However, most mosque committees there provide them with three meals a day. They live at the mosque free of cost.

In city areas Khatibs at big mosques may earn an additional Tk four to twenty thousand a month by conducting Jumma prayers.

As a result, to meet the expenses of their families many of them are engaged in tuition, conduct milads and doa mahfil, speaking at waz mahfil as religious preachers etc.

“As their housing and meals are free of cost they can survive. Besides, they do not pay much attention to life on earth,” said Mawlana Rafiqul Alam.

Jahirul Islam, assistant professor of Arabic department, Dhaka University said that Imams are associated with the madrasa and the mosque to perform the Sunnah of Allah’s Messenger. “As a result, they are not vocal for a salary hike. Many of them keep silent out of shyness,” he said.

Alia madrasa opens doors, sometimes

Degrees offered by the Alia madrasas are equivalent to the degrees offered by the general education system. But Alia madrasas also run into problems when trying to get their students into the mainstream job market.

The government has planned for Alia madrasa students to join the mainstream workforce after completing their Alim degree, equivalent to an HSC.

The number of students coming from the madrasas to general education and specialized sectors like medical and engineering institutions, and applied and theoretical science departments of the public universities are still few.

Previously, Alia madrasa students took a 100-mark Bengali and a 100-mark English exam at the Dakhil and Alim levels. Recently they have introduced 200 marks course for the subjects to make them eligible for university admission tests. But their curriculum has not been reformed, said Jahirul Islam, the Dhaka University teacher.

The madrasas which were once breeding ground of scholars, with leaders like Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and scientist Muhammad Qudrat-I-Khuda among their students, are now struggling to produce good students.

Now, students from these madrasas are not focused on building a career in Islamic education. Many of the students switch to general education after Alim examination and get admitted to universities. But a big portion of them choose subjects like Arabic, Islamic studies at the university. Religious customs play an instrumental role in their day-to-day life. However, there are instances that ex-students get detached from their religious customs while at university or professional lives.

At public universities’ admission test, Alia madrasa students now-a-days perform quite well. A good number of university teachers are from madrasa backgrounds.

Those, who wants to be Islamic scholars get admitted to Islamic universities and take leading roles among the religious-minded communities.

Many public universities have some departments for madrasa students like Arabic, Al-Quran, Daw’ah and Hadith, Fiqh for madrasa students. Thousands of students gain their degree in these subjects every year.

Asked about the job sectors in which Alia madrasa students are doing well, Madrasa Board chairman professor AKM SaifUllah told the Dhaka Tribune that their students are doing well in Public Service Commission exams and in other jobs.

“At present we have seen a number of students enter BCS cadre service like administration and police cadre. We are now giving emphasis on sciences, which is helping to produce experts in IT sector too.”

Courtesy: Dhaka Tribune
 

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There are 66 Qawmi madrasas, privately owned, while only 2 Alia madrasa exist that are government affiliated.

These privately owned Qawmi madrasas do not receive financial assistance from the government and are only able to operate with the aid of contributions and donations made by the locals or patrons.

There are however some exceptions such as madrasas that run an orphanage and are given financial aid strictly for the use of the orphanage. The madrasas that incorporate orphanages are sometimes given financial aid, following background checks and screening by government officials. It should be pointed out that some institutions exploit this loophole.

Dhaka Tribune has found there are 47 schools and colleges that enjoy government support and are situated in the vicinity of the same eight kilometer highway.

Forming an Alia madrasa requires government permission. Until 1970, there were an estimated 2,721 Alia madrasas in the country, as per Prof Abul Barkat, author of Political Economy of Madrasa Education in Bangladesh published in 2011.

In 2008, the total number of Alia madrasas stood at 14,152.

Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BANBEIS), however, says that as of 2015 total of 9,319 Alia madrasas were operating in the country. Of them three are government and others are non-government. The number of total students are 2,409,373.
 

Islamic school students sit in a classroom on the outskirts of Dhaka RAJIB DHAR
 

Prof Abul Barkat’s research says, number of students in Alia mardasas until 2008 was 4,580,082. He said that the number of Qawmi madrasas was 39,612 that year where 5,247,660 students studied at different classes.

BANBEIS keeps no data of the students and number of madrasa of Qawmi stream.

Prof Barakat’s research indicates that between 1950-2008 the number of madrasas increased rapidly—from 4,430 to 54,130. This includes both Qawmi and Alia madrasas. The Qawmi ones increased 13 times and Alia 11 times in the 60 years span.

Between 1991-2000 the growth rate was highest when 15,000 new madrasas were added across the country.

Discussions with researchers, politicians and teachers points to religion being politicized and belief systems becoming entrenched, bolstering the grown rate of madrasa in Bangladesh.

The government’s negligence to introduce proper education guidelines has also had an impact.

Mawlana Rafiqul Alam, Principle of Monshipara Hafijiya Madrasa and Orphanage in Gazipur said to Dhaka Tribune: “The objectives of Qawmi madrasa education and general education system are totally different. People who want to pursue religious work opt for madrasa”.

Qawmi madrasas are operating under more than a dozen education boards. A handful of Qawmi madrasas are not under any board. Then there are Maktabs, which are often attached to a mosque. This primary type of institutions are being established to tutor children in reading, writing, grammar and Islamic studies such as Qira’at (Quranic recitation) at rural and town areas.

Befaqul Madarisil Arabia Bangladesh (Befaq) or Bangladesh Qawmi madrasa education board is the most popular regulatory board of Qawmi madrasas. Under Befaq there are approximately, 5,451 madrasa as per their website.

“A vast number of people in our society want to build madrasa because of their personal religious beliefs,” added Rafiqul.

Befaqul Madarisil Arabia Bangladesh (Befaq), aims to encourage dignitaries to form more madrasas in their communities. They aim to promote Islam and claims that as a result, almost all villages in the country have a madrasa.

Explaining why madrasas are popular, Rafiqul said: “Madrasa education is significantly cheaper than general education. In addition, they also offer residential facilities which otherwise are not available in normal schools at cheap cost,” he added.

The interesting fact of Qawmi madrasa is, they reject state funding and instead rely on donations from the public to run their activities.
 

Funding and management of Qawmi madrasas

Every Qawmi madrasas has a managing committee named Majlis-ash-Shura consisting of the head of madrasa, its teachers and locally respected people and an executive committee with key members. The committee chief and Mohtamim (principal of the madrasa) are the key persons to take care of the madrasa fund.

The financial source of a Qawmi madrasa can be divided in two categories—internal and foreign sources, according to the book by Professor Barkat.

Affluent people donate money to the fund as Zakat (a form of alms-giving treated in Islam as a religious obligation or tax), Fitra (religious tax paid on the day when Muslims break the fasting period at the end of the month of Ramadan) and  Sadaqa (voluntary charity).

Besides, earning from waqf properties (donated assets), cultivating crops in rural areas, fees given by the students are also sources of income. People also donate skins of sacrificial animals to these madrasas.

Students, teachers, staff members also collect donations from the houses, sometimes railway and bus stations and give receipts to the donors. In the past, people also used to donate paddy to these madrasa and their orphanage, who now donate money generally.

The foreign funds are mainly collected from the expatriate Bangladeshis in Middle East and European countries. Some foreign organizations also donate money but these donations normally are kept secret.

Prof Barakat said most madrasa authorities are reluctant to open their mouths about the source of funding.

The Qawmi madrasa collects money for several funds—general fund, lillah (for poor students) fund, fund to buy books, fund for infrastructure construction. A standard Qawmi madrasa spends Tk25 lakhs in a year on average.
 

The financial structure of Alia madrasa

The financial structure of Alia madrasa is regulated by management committees consisting of Upazila Nirbahi officer (UNO), who plays the role of president, backed up by an education officer, madrasa principal, teachers, guardians and locally influential people.

The whole financial system is being monitored by the Education Ministry, education board and madrasa board. The executive committee approve expenses and local education regulatory office of the government. All transactions are operated by a bank.

An Alia madrasa gets funds from the government’s revenue and development budget. They also may get personal donations. Teachers, committee members and students help to collect these personal donations.

This article was first published on Dhaka Tribune

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