NAP to ensure madrassas offer balanced education
Madrassa curriculums will include worldly education and will be shared between different schools of thoughts
PHOTO: AFP
ISLAMABAD:
The federal government, the Wifaqul Madaris and Ittihad-e-Tanzeemmat-e-Madaris have arrived at a collective agreement on the curriculum for religious seminaries. This has been one of the biggest steps taken to date for the inclusion of madrassas into the mainstream of the country, officials said on Thursday.
Mainstreaming religious seminaries was part of the 20-point National Action Plan (NAP), formulated in the wake of the deadly attack on Peshawar’s Army Public School in December 2014.
A high level meeting, chaired by National Security Advisor (NSA) Lt General Nasser Khan Janjua, was held on Thursday to review progress on the suggested reforms.
The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Education Baleeghur Rehman, prominent members of the Wifaq ul Madaris and Ittihad-e-Tanzeemmat-e-Madaris, while prominent scholars Mufti Munib-ur-Rehman, Qari Muhammad Hanif Jalandhri, Muhammad Yasin Zafar, Maulana Abdul Malik and Maulana Niyaz Hussain Naqvi were among the attendees.
The Express Tribune learnt through an official privy to the meeting that policies related to the curriculum and the running of seminaries were nearly finalized, as a consensus has been reached on a number of issues.
The pertinent thing to note is that although the process has taken three years, five different madrassa boards, belonging to different schools of thought, have agreed to share their curriculums with each other and the government.
The official, lauding the step, said that it may also help diminish sectarian differences, while also ensuring that no school of thought is encouraging hate against other sects. Religious seminaries are often accused of teaching curriculums that encourage hate speech against other schools of thought.
Two panels to finalise madrassa reforms
An officer, wishing not to be named, from the Ministry of Religious Affairs speaking to The Express Tribune, said “One of the main objectives of the reforms is to ensure that madrassa students learn the real meaning of Islam and what jihad entails.”
He went on to state that in the past, enemies of Islam have used religion to propagate hate and create terrorists out of young, malleable minds and that it was high time that students understood what Islam actually marks as right and wrong.
A statement from the NSA office said that Gen Janjua gave a detailed presentation about the steps taken so far, while explaining that a well-rounded education system would enable madrassah students to land jobs in all professions of their choosing. The curriculum, other procedures, proposed system for examinations and future strategies were also discussed during the meeting.
The federal government, the Wifaqul Madaris and Ittihad-e-Tanzeemmat-e-Madaris have arrived at a collective agreement on the curriculum for religious seminaries. This has been one of the biggest steps taken to date for the inclusion of madrassas into the mainstream of the country, officials said on Thursday.
Mainstreaming religious seminaries was part of the 20-point National Action Plan (NAP), formulated in the wake of the deadly attack on Peshawar’s Army Public School in December 2014.
A high level meeting, chaired by National Security Advisor (NSA) Lt General Nasser Khan Janjua, was held on Thursday to review progress on the suggested reforms.
The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Education Baleeghur Rehman, prominent members of the Wifaq ul Madaris and Ittihad-e-Tanzeemmat-e-Madaris, while prominent scholars Mufti Munib-ur-Rehman, Qari Muhammad Hanif Jalandhri, Muhammad Yasin Zafar, Maulana Abdul Malik and Maulana Niyaz Hussain Naqvi were among the attendees.
Registration of madrassas under National Action Plan to begin in April
The Express Tribune learnt through an official privy to the meeting that policies related to the curriculum and the running of seminaries were nearly finalized, as a consensus has been reached on a number of issues.
The pertinent thing to note is that although the process has taken three years, five different madrassa boards, belonging to different schools of thought, have agreed to share their curriculums with each other and the government.
The official, lauding the step, said that it may also help diminish sectarian differences, while also ensuring that no school of thought is encouraging hate against other sects. Religious seminaries are often accused of teaching curriculums that encourage hate speech against other schools of thought.
Two panels to finalise madrassa reforms
An officer, wishing not to be named, from the Ministry of Religious Affairs speaking to The Express Tribune, said “One of the main objectives of the reforms is to ensure that madrassa students learn the real meaning of Islam and what jihad entails.”
He went on to state that in the past, enemies of Islam have used religion to propagate hate and create terrorists out of young, malleable minds and that it was high time that students understood what Islam actually marks as right and wrong.
A statement from the NSA office said that Gen Janjua gave a detailed presentation about the steps taken so far, while explaining that a well-rounded education system would enable madrassah students to land jobs in all professions of their choosing. The curriculum, other procedures, proposed system for examinations and future strategies were also discussed during the meeting.