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The madrassa case

Lubain Chowdhury Masum
If one student appears for 100 marks in English and another one appears for 200 marks, and then both of them take an admission test of the same standard and the former outperforms the latter, who is comparatively better?
Being a former madrassa student who later studied at Dhaka University, I feel a moral obligation to write a few words on the controversy over admission of madrassa students to Dhaka University. Ever since the row began, the media has been writing about the madrassa students, portraying them as violent and irrational, without giving the rationale for the demands from their point of view.
For years, students from madrassa background have been studying general subjects at Dhaka University', and performing well both in their studies and later in their careers. So, let us first determine what prompted the departmental authorities to impose the requirement for appearing in exams for 200 marks each in English and Bangla at the higher secondary level. Did the authorities conduct any survey among the madrassa -educated students that showed that they could not cope with the pace of mainstream education?
I asked a teacher at the university whether he felt that madrassa students were performing poorly because they had appeared for 100 marks in English at Alim (HSQ level. The answer was a simple no. The fact is that many teachers of my department deliver lecture in Bangla and most students, irrespective of the backgrounds, write their answers-in Bangla. If the teachers feel that the department requires students to be more proficient in English they can set a requirement of higher scores in the admission test, which will not discriminate among the students and serve the purpose.
Poor English proficiency is not related to whether the students studied for 100 or 200 marks in English, it indicates lack of quality education. If one student appears for 100 marks in English and another one appears for 200 marks, and then both of them take an admission test of the same standard and the former outperforms the latter, who is comparatively better (just forthe sake of argument)?
When a madrassa student gets admitted to Dhaka University, he actually does so by outpacing the students who appeared for200 marks. It is not the mercy of the admission authorities that enrolls madrassa students, rather they struggle really hard to enter the mainstream higher education.
There are many madrassa-background students who studied at Dhaka University and now work in important government and non-government organisations. United Nations and other international bodies, public and private universities, prominent English and Bangla dailies, banks and nonbanking financial institutions, embassies of western countries, multi-national companies, renowned business organisations, etc.
Appearing for 100 marks in English and Bangla instead of 200 did not bar them from going places in their professional life, just like getting 6.5 or 5.5 in in-course or tutorials do not matter. Interestingly, the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) of Dhaka University, considered the most prestigious educational institute of the country, does not require 200 marks in English at the HSC/Alim level, making way for one of my closest madrassa friends to study MBA at the IBA although studying here entails proficiency in English.
We cannot expect that madrassa education will be modernised overnight. Because the government recognises the madrassa education system, a department of a university cannot impose conditions that affect graduates of a government approved education. If these departments really want to impose such conditions, they can inform the education ministry of their concerns and the changes they would like to make so that the ministry can act accordingly. Imposing conditions with immediate effect shatters the dream of those students who studied in madrassas to acquire religious knowledge with an aim to go for higher studies in general subjects at Dhaka University, so it is unfair and unjust.
Everything is politicised in our country, and so is education. Madrassa students are equated with a certain political party although they have nothing to do with that party. Madrassa students enroll in the country's premier institution with the ambition to rise life, not to spoil their life in dirty politics. Preventing them from achieving these goals on political grounds will only bring misfortune and backwardness to the nation.
Some people fear that increasing the number of madrassa-educated students at Dhaka University may threaten the secular atmosphere of the country's highest educational body. But the fact is that most madrassa students come to the university with open minds and a receptive attitude, and adapt their lives with the mainstream.
Actually, madrassa students are the bridge between the religious and secular communities. For the sake of cohesion, integration and long-term benefit of the country, the mainstream education should embrace such pupils who are eager to enter the mainstream and contribute to the society positively. If we discriminate against them and alienate them because of our narrowness and lack of foresight, they will lag behind and indulge in activities that the mainstream may not like. We should not forget that these students arc children of this nation and part of this country. We cannot just segregate them from the society and relegate them to second-class citizens. So if we can engage them, it will produce better outcome not just for the students, but for Bangladesh as well.
If you have a comment, query or disagreement, please feel free to write to the author at lubainrr.asum@gmail com Views expressed here are my own, not necessarily those of the organisation I work with.