Madrasas as Partners in Education Provision: the South Asian Experience

Since September 11, madrasas, Islamic schools, are often in the media but mostly for negative reasons. This paper, however, shows that madrasas are prominent providers of education in South Asia, especially for children with limited access to regular schools in Muslim communities. The paper presents comparative analysis of the state-led madrasa-modernisation programmes in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, which aimed to introduce secular subjects in the madrasa curriculum, and shows that madrasas can be important partners to meet Education for All targets. The forging of such a partnership is, however, contingent on the state making a serious financial commitment to the reform programme and building a trusting relationship with the religious elite.