In the wake of the hijack of an Indian Airlines plane in 1999 and a subsequent controversial report prepared by the Research and Analysis Wing of India (RAW) that accused the Inter-Services Intelligence of Pakistan (ISI) of funding Madrasas operated in rural villages of Nepal to fight for Jihad, the government had decided to register all Nepali Muslim religious schools.
On May 24, 2002, the government had circulated directives to all DEOs through the Department of Education (DoE) to get all Madarsas registered under the Education Act, 1971. Until then, all Nepali Madrasas were being run without adhering to any rules and regulations. It was clearly a response to the RAW-report that unleashed an intensive outcry in Nepal.
However, even after more than seven years, the government has failed to mainstream even half of Nepali Madrasas. So far, the government has got only 810 Madrasas registered, not even one fourth of the total. According to Prof Zaheed Pervej, who has done a number of researches on problems faced by Nepali Madrasas, there are over 4,000 religious schools run by Muslims with support from local and international donors.
Janardan Nepal, under secretary at the DoE, admits that Madrasa registration process has lost its earlier momentum. “Many Muslim leaders appear to be reluctant to register their Madrasas,” Nepal says. “We are doing our best to integrate all Madrasas into mainstream schooling at the earliest.”
Going by what Subhan Ali Ansari, the president of Madrasas Management Council, says, almost all Muslim religious schools and colleges run mainly on donation that they collect from different Islamic countries. It is, indeed, a major reason why Madrasa-operators hesitate to come forward for introducing modern education system in their schools and colleges.
“Madrasa operators fear that they have to disclose everything including their sources of income after bringing them in the eyes of the government administration,” Ansari says. Nepali Madrasas collect funds, according to Ansari, mostly from all better-off Arabic countries like UAE and Qatar.
Prof Pervej also echoes what Ansari says. “During my researches, I tried to prod Madrasa-operators into disclosing their income sources,” Pervej says. “But, my efforts went in vein. They didn´t like to expose anything.”
It is not that Madrasas totally rely on donations from Islamic countries. They collect donation locally from every Muslim household, too. Besides, those who are well-off donate 2.5 per cent of their yearly income to educating Muslim children about social mores. However, it is a tiny portion of their income sources. The large portion of international donation is absolutely unregulated. “Nobody knows how large this portion is,” Prof Pervej says.
However, Nazrul Hasan, the president of Islami Association of Nepal, says that reluctance to expose the details of income sources is not the only reason that drives Madrasa-operators away from mainstreaming their education system. In fact, it is, as Hasan points out, the lack of clear policy on the part of the government in terms of ensuring the future course of the Madrasas.
“It seems that the government just wants to control Madrasas instead of mainstream them in real sense,” Hasan opines. According to him, even after the government came up with a plan to mainstream Madrasas, there has been no progress on equipping them with tools of modern education.
On June 21, 2005, Muslim intellectuals gathered at DoE demanded that the government appoint those capable to teach in Madrasas as teachers and provide students with modern curriculum. But, their demand, as they say, went unheard. “Some Madrasas have got a couple of teacher on government quota,” Hasan says. “But, it is uncertain as to how long will they be getting it.”
Still, the government has not provided Madrasas with curriculum of modern subjects like English, mathematics and science. “The government should formulate a policy that stipulates how many subjects Madrasas are supposed to slot in their curriculum,” Hasan says. “This policy ought to allow Madrasas to stick to their traditional way of teaching to an extent.”
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