December 10, 2018: CODE PAKISTAN held a consultative session in Peshawar today with religious scholars and youth on co-creating entry points for madrasah engagement.
The religious scholars and youth studying in madrasahs were of the view that non-equivalence of madrasah certificates and degrees for government jobs and admissions in universities was a serious concern. They added that madrasahs lacked resources for introducing contemporary subjects in madrasahs. They were further of the opinion that madrasahs were not viewed as educational institutions and were singled out in security policies. They called for a change in the narrative about madrasahs and dissociating them from extremism and terrorism. They opined that since security, health, education, and welfare of the people were the responsibility of the state, the state needed to support the madrasahs, which were supporting the government in the field of education. The religious scholars and madrasah youth were of the opinion that they could play a role in journalism and law. They called for instituting separate quotas for madrasah students in higher education institutions.
The participants added that since GRE and GAT type tests were now a requirement for various government jobs and admissions in universities, it was leading to serious problems for madrasah graduates because they were not familiar with the subjects included in such examinations.
The participants of the consultation stressed the need for technical and vocational education for madrasah students. They maintained that vocational trainings related to tailoring, electrician, mobile repairing, and computers were potential areas of lending a hand to madrasahs. They emphasized that Holy Prophets and Companions of Prophet Mohammad (SAW) engaged in worldly activities alongside their religious obligations.
Some participants highlighted shared that Indian Penal Code was taught at Darul Uloom Deoband in India and that the same model could be applied in madrasahs in Pakistan. The participants were in favor of enhancing interaction between madrasahs of various sects and increasing university-madrasah interaction. Scholarships for madrasah students were also highlighted as a need in the discussion.
The participants of the consultation included the following prominent religious scholars and youth: Maulana Mohammad Ishaq, Saleem ur Rehman, Mohammad Karim Akhtar Orakzai, Hameed Ullah, Zubair Shah, Mohammad Habib Qureshi, Mohammad Idrees, Mohammad Shoaib, Mohammad Younus, Mehboob Ahmed, Mehmood Zaki, S. Jamil Hassan, Ihsan Ullah, Syed Saqib Hussain, M. Israr Madni, Wasif Nawaz, Hafiz Salman ul Haq Haqqani, Luqman ul Haq Haqqani, and Umer Hayat.