Madrasah Education: An Observation - 20 | Articles on Education of Bangladesh | Uncatagorized

MUZIB MEHDY

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In the last quarter of the 20th century, women involved in development activities began traveling in the rural areas on motorbikes and bicycles for work related purposes. Many people have lauded this development as progress for professional women; on the other side a segment of the same population (both educated and uneducated) have identified this as an indicator of the degeneration of women in terms of morality and character and Madrasah students threatened to prevent this behavior.

The nefarious attack that was made by young Madrasah boys on the sports day for primary students of the public Aaliyah Madrasah of Sylhet, where their rage was expended on the young girls participating in the sports competitions as well as the national flag, must have been an attempt to bring about the alleged morality.⁷

The fact that what the majority people of society deem as progress appears to be moral degeneration to Madrasah people making them take actions to eradicate it must be an outcome of Madrasah education. The values promoted through Madrasah education attempts to retain non-progress in national and social life. Reviewing this example of the participation of the Madrasahs in establishing their so called morality as well as selected incidents of their personal and professional lives that have been published in the newspapers point toward the moral vacuum that exist within them. There is no need to go into controversial subjects; there are no actions that are morally contemptible to all human beings that the Madrasah related people are not deeply involved in – whether that action is murder, rape, sexual assault, embezzlement or cheating at exams.

The editorial of a daily newspaper remarked that the grand festival of cheating during exams was the biggest proof that Madrasah education does not improve the moral values of individuals. Also, the newspapers often publish details of various disreputable activities that go on in Madrasah hostels, or setting up of bogus Madrasahs to embezzle funds. Madrasah students bring copying/cheating materials to exam halls in their socks, shoes or underwear. These are examples of improvement of their moral values…these false alems will come of no use to this nation except to discredit it⁸. Truly, they are setting examples that discredit our nation in many ways. According to one report Hafez Sajjadur Rahman, teacher at the Shuigram Maulana Fazlul Huq Hafezia Madrasah of Palashbari thana headquarter, was sacked following proof that he had had sexual relations with a number of his male students. The Hafez had conducted his heinous activities for quite sometime by intimidating the boys in the classroom or the mosque.⁹ According to another newspaper story, a Madrasah teacher and Imam of the mosque raped an 11-year-old girl in Balaganj of Sylhet. Hafez Maulana Tajul Islam was private tutor to the child¹⁰.

Embezzlement and fraud are taking place often in the numerous Ebtedayee and Dakhil Madrasahs throughout the country. We only get to hear a few of these through the newspapers. These crimes are being committed by the teachers who have been employed to provide moral education. How can those, who are themselves immoral and unethical, be considered appropriate to impart lessons of morality to students?

Through the indulgence of the single Board that deals with Madrasah education, many Madrasah teachers are becoming entangled in corruption in order to obtain false registrations. In the Dakhil exams held in March 2000, over 23,000 students participated with false registrations. At least 2,881 Madrasahs were involved in the false registration scam. The majority of these Madrasahs were female Madrasahs. Interestingly, some of these Madrasahs with false students themselves were operating with falsified registration. About 7,000 students were ejected from the exam halls for cheating during the Dakhil exams¹¹. This kind of corruption was going on in Madrasahs for a long time. It is only recently that governmental probes and investigations are bringing these to light. The quality and level of morality practiced in the Madrasahs become clear from the disclosure of similar incidents. If this is the morality practiced by the teachers and the students, then it raises questions regarding the future of this educational system.

The quality of education determined by the current educational system seems to make passing without cheating almost impossible. The majority of public exams held in the country witnesses a flood of cheating. If the so-called moral education, the Madrasahs also follow in the footsteps of the rest of the country, then how can we believe it better than it’s peers? Because of the emphasis on moral education, the expectation of people regarding the behaviour and values of Madrasah educated and the Madrasah teachers is high. The revelations of the last few years have damaged that expectation, firmly entrenching in people’s minds the belief that Madrasahs mean centers of dishonesty, fraud and other corrupt and degenerate practices.

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Reference:
7.      During this attack young boys from the Madrasahs ruthlessly assaulted primary school girls and set fire to  the national flag.  All educational institutions in Sylhet observed a one-day strike in protest of the incident.  The History of the Fatwa in Bangladesh, Dr. Muhammad Hanna, BNPS, 1999, Pg. 70
8.    The Education to Create False Alems, the Daily Sangbad, June 13, 1998
9.    The Daily Muktakantha, December 21 1997
10.    The Daily Muktakantha, September 2, 1998
11.    The Daily Sangbad (Editorial), June 28, 2000, Pg. 4

1. [1] During this attack young boys from the Madrasahs ruthlessly assaulted primary school girls and set fire to the national flag. All educational institutions in Sylhet observed a one-day strike in protest of the incident. The History of the Fatwa in Bangladesh, Dr. Muhammad Hanna, BNPS, 1999, Pg. 70

2. The Education to Create False Alems, the Daily Sangbad, June 13, 1998

3. The Daily Muktakantha, December 21 1997

4. The Daily Muktakantha, September 2, 1998

The Daily Sangbad (Editorial), June 28, 2000, Pg. 4

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