Madressah reform

THE debate over how to reform madressahs in Pakistan is not a new one. While seminaries in the
country experienced explosive growth during the Zia years, producing the human raw material required
for the anti-Soviet Afghan ‘jihad’, during the Musharraf era, and especially in the aftermath of 9/11, the
establishment had second thoughts about these institutions. The various madressah reform campaigns
over the years have had mixed success, with the clergy expectedly putting up resistance to any efforts by
the state to encroach upon what they perceive to be their turf. However, the present government has
also indicated that it wants to ‘mainstream’ the institutions. The Ministry of Federal Education and
Professional Training says a directorate to oversee madressahs is almost ready, and that ulema are on
board. A few days earlier, while meeting clerics, the prime minister had also remarked that
‘revolutionary’ reforms to overhaul seminaries were in the works.

If the government were to succeed in bringing madressahs into the mainstream, specifically in
overseeing their curriculum and ensuring their registration, it would be a feat worth appreciating.
However, this is easier said than done. For example, there are no concrete figures about how many
seminaries — registered and otherwise — exist in the country; estimates range from 30,000 to 60,000.
Moreover, ensuring that all sects and sub-sects that run madressahs are on board is another challenge. It
would be wrong to say that all madressahs preach terror and extremism; many do not, but as the
experiences of Lal Masjid as well as of the seminaries that helped produce sectarian and jihadi terrorists
show, even a small unregulated minority is enough to challenge the writ of the state. What is more,
there are relevant questions about what the students of madressahs will do after they graduate. Surely
not all graduates can be absorbed as prayer leaders and Quran teachers. Therefore, these youngsters
need life skills along with their religious education that can help them find gainful employment upon
completing their courses at seminaries.

Madressah reform efforts, therefore, must focus on two key areas: eliminating extremist and sectarian
content from the syllabus, and giving seminarians training that will help them find jobs in a wide variety
of fields. While the state has indeed cracked down on seminaries linked to militant groups, more needs
to be done to eliminate content that may fan extremism and sectarianism in the impressionable young
minds that study in madressahs. Instead of focusing on the ‘othering’ of different sects and faiths,
madressahs need to teach young pupils the compassion and civic duties that religion stresses. Moreover,
cosmetic changes — such as introducing English and computer classes — will not do much unless
madressah pupils are given vocational training that will make them employable in the job market. But
most of all, the state needs to reform the public education system so that the majority of parents can
send their wards to school.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2019