Pakistan plans to bring 30,000 madrasas under government control
Modernising madrasa education is a thorny issue in the deeply conservative Muslim nation
Islamabad — Pakistan plans to take control of a network of more than 30,000 madrasas as part of a drive to “mainstream” the Islamic schools by bringing them under state control, the military’s spokesperson said on Monday. Modernising madrasa education is a thorny issue in Pakistan, a deeply conservative Muslim nation where religious schools are often blamed for radicalisation of youngsters but are the only education available to millions of poor children. Pakistan’s new government, facing pressure from global powers to act against militant groups carrying out attacks in India and Afghanistan, has vowed major reforms and Prime Minister Imran Khan has promised the South Asian nation will no longer tolerate such outfits operating on its territory. Critics of the madrasa education system say children who attend such schools, where they spend most of the day memorising the holy Quran, are often ill-equipped for the modern world and some madrasas act as breeding grounds for militant out...
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