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Madrasa Education: The Bangladeshi Experience

Madrasa Education: The Bangladeshi Experience. Mohammad Niaz Asadullah University of Reading World Bank-DFID South Asia Regional Conference on Education for All 24-26 October 2007. Introduction. In Muslim countries, madrasas are in the spotlight for wrong reasons

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Madrasa Education: The Bangladeshi Experience

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  1. Madrasa Education: The Bangladeshi Experience Mohammad Niaz Asadullah University of Reading World Bank-DFID South Asia Regional Conference on Education for All 24-26 October 2007

  2. Introduction • In Muslim countries, madrasas are in the spotlight for wrong reasons • Religious militancy; extremism; poor labour market demand • Reform option: • Threat of closure vs. fiscal incentives. • Many argue against incentives on the following grounds: • Islamic schools reject state interference • Curriculum reform doesn’t imply quality education • Reform may not benefit girls • curriculum modernisation does not remove gender gap, an important MDG target • Social polarization

  3. Outline • Part 1: Stylized facts about “modernized” madrasa education sector in Bangladesh • Evidence from administrative data • Part 2: Evidence from survey data • Do madrasa children have lower test score? • Does religious education lead to polarized world views?

  4. Part 1: Education in BangladeshStructure (1) Secondary schooling system: 3 parallel streams • i. Secular: private/public schools • Uniform curriculum: 10% religion • ii. Religious (private), recognised (Aliyah) • Government madrasa board (est 1979) • Open to employment of Hindu and female teachers • Uniform curriculum: 50% religion • Maths, Bengali, English, geography/science: grades 1-10 • iii. Religious (private), unrecognised (Quomi) • No single recognised board/association • 7 regional boards (100-2000 members per association) • established between 1959 and 1979

  5. Part 1: Education in BangladeshStructure (2) • iii. Religious (private), unrecognised (Quomi) • Majority inspired by Deoband (India) system (established in 1866) • Co-education not permissible • Predominantly single sex, all-boys • No single curriculum • share of modern subjects vary: 40%-100% religion • grades 1-6/8: Maths, Bengali, English, geography etc • Grade 9 and onwards: 100% religious studies

  6. Part 1: Education in BangladeshSize • Primary • 8% [6,871 against aprxm 80,401 formal primary schools] • Secondary • 32% [8,407 at post-primary level against 17,389 formal secondary schools] • 15% of total PPE enrolment • In contrast, Madrasas in Pakistan account for less than 1% of total school enrolment. • Huge growth between 1980 and 2000 • Unregistered madrasas? • Estimates vary between 4,000-16,000 (including primary)

  7. Part 1: Education in BangladeshStylized facts (1) • The most-feminized and largest co-ed madrasa system in the world!

  8. Co-ed higher secondary classrooms (i)

  9. Co-ed higher secondary classrooms (ii)

  10. Co-ed higher secondary classrooms (iii)

  11. Part 1: Education in BangladeshStylized facts (2) • Comprises of large number of potential “converts” i.e. formerly traditional madrasas

  12. Part 1: Education in BangladeshPublic subsidy schemes (1) • Scheme 1: Since 1980, registered madrasas eligible for teacher salary aid • Schools also benefit from this scheme • 90% of teacher salary is paid by the state • Scheme 2: Since 1994, registered secondary schools and madrasas admitting girls eligible for developmental funds as part of the “Female Stipend” scheme

  13. Part 1: Education in BangladeshPublic subsidy schemes (1) • Key questions • Is feminisation linked to incentives? • Is adoption of “modernise” curriculum induced by incentives? • Did previously-traditional madrasas additionally open their gates to females? • “co-eds” today BUT “all-boys” yesterday? • Evidence? • No data on pre-reform, traditional madrasas • Data from Census of secondary schools and Aliyah madrasas (2003)

  14. Part 1: Education in Bangladesh Public subsidy schemes (2) Table: Sex-composition of students and teachers in post-primary madrasas in Bangladesh, 1970-2003

  15. Part 1: Education in Bangladesh Public subsidy schemes (3) • Census of secondary schools and madrasas, 2003 • Use data on year of establishment of registered ones

  16. Part 1: Education in Bangladesh Public subsidy schemes (4) • “Converts” predominantly co-educational.. opened their gates to girls. Figure: Sex-orientation of post- and pre-reform registered madrasas

  17. Part 2: Evidence from survey data:Study 1: Learning Achievement in Madrasas (1) • Asadullah et al., Economics of Education Review, 2007 • Sample • Rural registered schools (N= 227) and madrasas (N=94) • 20 Maths questions • Very low overall score • Madrasas (36%) vs. schools (38%)

  18. Part 2: Evidence from survey dataStudy 1: Learning Achievement in Madrasas (2) • Regression Analysis Controlling for • Individual • Family • School • Teacher • There’s no difference in the quality of formal secondary schools and registered madrasas once we account for the selective nature of student intakes • Secular, government-aided schools not necessarily of superior quality

  19. Part 2: Evidence from survey dataStudy 2: Attitudes and values • Derivate Study from a Larger Study involving a random rural sample of 231 non-religious secondary schools and 94 secondary madrasas 1000 Teachers (335 Madrasa Teachers) • 191 Females who graduated from a random sub-sample of secular and madrasa schools (61) • Detailed current and retrospectively matched school/teacher information • Impact of the madrasa reform on social integration? • No divide in attitude towards democracy • Some divide in fertility preference and gender equity • BUT……. • Presence of female teachers significantly close the attitudinal gap between madrasa and school graduates

  20. Questions on Social and Economic Attitudes • Sub-set of Questions from World Values Survey • Attitudes towards working mothers • Desired Fertility • Higher education for boys vis-à-vis girls • Political regimes (military, Islamic, secular)

  21. Teacher-Student Matched Analysis: Empirically Focus on 2 Questions • Does the madrasa system produce students with polarized views ? • How are these views modulated by: • ‘Traditionalist’ • Female/Secular Teachers • Regression Analysis Controlling for • Individual • Family • Community • School • Teacher

  22. Yes, There are Differences in Attitudes,But Female Teachers Help to Attenuate the Polarization Effect of Madrasas • Differences in attitudes of madrasa graduates regarding demographic decision, investment in female education, and Islamic rule – are all greatly reduced by exposure to female teachers • Findings confirm a broad consensus in the development literature that female teachers are a key agent of social change

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