1. Mudarsa Education System in Pakistan
Submitted to: Mr. Fani

2. WhatareMadaris??
The term “madrasah” has varied meanings. Generally, it is the term given in Arabic to any
school, but it is also used to refer to specific types of schools.
The madrasah system or deenimadaris, religious education institutions focusing on religious
Law, teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, classical logic, literature and the Quran, but there is
no universally fixed course of study. The interpretation of these texts may also vary from one
madrasah to another.
Early history of Madaris
Madrasah or deeni madaris have existed for centuries in the Islamic world, including inPakistan.
Madaris did not exist in the early beginnings of Islam. Their formation can probably be traced to
the early Islamic custom of meeting in mosques to discuss religious issues. At this early stage,
people seeking religious knowledge tended to gather around certain more knowledgeable
Muslims. These informal teachers later became known as sheikhs; and these sheikhs began to
hold regular religious education sessions called majalis 'sessions'.
As an institution of learning, the madrasa is centuries old. One of the firstestablished madrasas,
called the Nizamiyah, was built in Baghdad during the eleventhcentury A.D. Offering food,
lodging, and a free education, madrasas spread rapidlythroughout the Muslim world.
Madaris in Pakistan
Hosting over 12,000 madrasas, Pakistan’s religious and public educational infrastructure are of
ongoing concern in the United States. In an economy that is marked by extreme poverty and
underdevelopment, costs associated with Pakistan’s cash-strapped public education
systemhave led some Pakistanis to turn to madrasas for free education, room, and board.
As of January 2007, over 12,000 of Pakistan’s estimated 13,000 madrasas hadregistered with
authorities. In a more controversial step, the Pakistani government alsodemanded that adrasas
expel all of their foreign students by December 31, 2005. Of anestimated 1,700 foreign
madrasa students, 1,000 had reportedly left Pakistan by January1, 2006. In August 2006,
Pakistani authorities announced their intent to deport some ofthe remaining 700 foreign
students if they did not obtain permission to remain in Pakistanfrom their home governments:
the visas o those with permission reportedly wereextended.

3. Some nationalist and Islamist groups have resisted the government’s enforcementefforts, and
authorities have made statements indicating that they do not plan to use forceor shut down
noncompliant madrasas in order to enforce the directives.
An air-strike on a madrasa near the border with Afghanistan in the Bajaur tribal region
killedreported militants on October 30, 2006, and sparked massive protests across Pakistan.In
July 2007, Pakistani security forces raided a girls madrasa related to the conservativeRed
Mosque after individuals affiliated with the facilities refused government orders tostop
vigilante enforcement of religious social codes. Over 100 people were reportedlykilled in
related clashes.
General Characteristics
 At independence in 1947 there were about 245 madrasahs in Pakistan.
 The number of madrasahs has increased since the rule of General Zia ul-Haq (1977-
1988).
 In April 2002, the Minister of Religious Affairs estimated the number of schools to be
about 10,000, with 1.7 million students.
 This number however is contested; different sources name figures from 600,000 to 2
million students.
 The madrasahs are controlled by their own organizations or boards. The boards define
the curriculum, and collect registration and examination fee.
Central Boards of Madrasahs in Pakistan
Wafq-ul-Madaris-alSalafia
Ahl-i-Hadith Faislabad 1955
WafaqulMadarisDeobandi Multan
WafaqulMadaris(Shia) Pakistan
TanzimulMadarisBarelvi Lahore
Rabta-tul-Madaris-alIslamia

4. Jamat-i-Islami Lahore 1983
School Education
Madrasah primary schools, called maktabs, are usually attached to mosques and provide basic
Islamic education, e.g. reading and memorisation of the Quran. Secondary school
madrasahsprovide advanced instruction in Islamic education.
As for teaching modern subjects, the Ahl-i-Hadith madrasahs have been teaching Pakistan
studies, English, mathematics and general science for a long time, according to Tariq
Raman,2004. The Jamat-i-Islami as well as the larger Deobandi, Barelvi and Shia madrasahs also
teach secular subjects. Urdu and Arabic are the languages of instruction in the madrasahs.
Madrasahs have their own examination system and award certificates called sanads
corresponding to the formal system.
 Hifz/Tajweed-wa-Quiraat/Ibtedayia = Primary School
 Mutawassita = Middle School
 SanviyaAama = Secondary School Certificate
 SanaviyaKhassa and above = Higher Secondary School Certificate
Holders of the SanaviyaKhassa can either continue to higher education within the madrasah
System or in the formal sector.
Madrasahs are mostly run on a charitable basis, the fees charged being small or non-
existent.Some madrasahs provide free room and board as well. The Pakistan government gives
financial assistance to madrasahs in order to modernise textbooks, including secular subjectsin
thecurriculum such as English, mathematics and introducing computers.In order to bring the
madrasah schools into the mainstream, in 2002 General PervezMusharraf's military
government tried to impose reform on the schools in the form of prescription of foreign
students, introduction of modern subjects and the creation of model madaris. Only about 4,350
schools agreed to register.
The Pakistan government however continues the reform of the madaris and the introduction of
formal education that started with the National Education Policy (1998-2010) At the end of
2005, the Pakistan government made it mandatory for madrasahs to be registered, and they
have declared that all unregistered madrasahs will be closed, beginning in December 2005.

5. Higher Education
As mentioned earlier, it is possible to continue to higher education within the madrasah
system. The document below is a degree certificate issued in Arabic by the Wafq-ul-Madaris-
alSalafiya University belonging to the Ahl-I-Hadith (or Wahabi) sub-sect.
The degree is considered as equivalent to a Master’s degree in Arabic and Islam by the
University Grants Commission as can be seen in the stamp on the verso of the document.
 Number of secondary and higher madrassas 6,000
 Senior and graduate level madrassas 4,335
 Deobandi madrassas 2,333
 Barelvi madrassas 1,625
 Ahl-i-Hadith madrassas 224
 Shia madrassas 163
 Number of all students 604,421
 Local students (Pakistani) 586,604
 Foreign students 17,817
 Afghan students 16,598
Factors Affecting
promoting religious fanaticism and sectarian violence
withinPakistan, and of ‘breeding terrorists’ for international jihad. On the other hand, modern
feminist writings by Pakistani scholars concentrate on analyzing the public school texts booksto
find out gender bias, which reinforces patriarchal ideologies.
Both the discourse ignoregirls’ madaris and their curriculum (formal and informal). Curriculum
is a necessary ingredient for carving out peculiar self and personality that is demonstrated by
the girls of madaris in Islamabad in March 2007.
In recent months, many articles and reports have pointed out with alarm the increase in the
number of Madaris in Pakistan during the past two and half decades.
It is hard to count the exact number of madaris in Pakistan. After independence, gradual
increase has been observed in madaris. In 1947, Pakistan had 137 madaris or according to
another estimate 245,which increasedupto 401 in 1960. In 1971 they were 893 and eventually
3000 in 1988. They are multiplying in number since then.
,

6. Gender Dynamics
Being conservative institutions, madrasas are regarded to be biased towards malestudents.
However, recent studies quote a high figure of 30 per cent of all madrasa students being
females. This was unheard of before the 1970s, but madrasas are now educating almost a
quarter of a million females and contributing over half of all graduates each year.
Madrasa life and education
while
Ebrahim (2008) condemns even the large madrasas for lack of leisurely activities beyond sports.
Other more damning critiques report incidents of torture and sex abuse (Murphy, 2005), while
also being critical of the clergy who lure poor families for self-interest.
Opportunities after education
Bano (2007) describes how students teach the Quran to neighborhood children and many gain
employment as imams or khateebs even before graduation, while still otherspursue higher
studies.
Indeed, even as graduates of secular schools are unemployed in large numbers, it is rare to find
a madrasa graduate unemployed.Similarly, Qasmi (2005) states that if a student wants to make
a livelihood working in a spiritually rewarding if low-paying job, he should be admired, not
condemned.
Funding, support and society
Madrasas appear under five ideological boards.While the most popular claim is that madrasas
are financed by politically and religiously affiliated foreign and local bodies.
Rahman (2004) contends that it is charitythat causes them to flourish. Financial information is
jealously guarded by the clergy, Ibrahim notes that divulging sources is troublesome since many

7. individuals donot want their acts of charity to be publicized and philanthropists abroad are
wary of being linked with terrorism.
Terrorism, madrasas and government
schools
Interest in madrasas has increased exponentially in the last decade owing to the threat of
terrorism.Any discussion on the diversity and problems of madrasas shows that decisions based
on a generalized understanding are always going to be flawed. There are tangible as well as
intangible differences in madrasas depending on their size, student strength, and ideological
dimensions.