A DECLINE or stagnation in the number of students in general education and an increase in the number of students in madrassah education, beginning from the secondary to the tertiary level, in the past few years brings to the fore a couple of issues to think over for managers of national education. Official figures show that the number of students in general education from the secondary to the tertiary level, on the one hand, was 4,926,266 in 2024, 5,093,891 in 2023, 4,832,170 in 2022, 4,736,962 in 2021 and 4,635,121 in 2020. The number of students in madrassah education from the secondary to the tertiary level, on the other hand, was 2,796,191 in 2024, 2,758,504 in 2023, 2,762,277 in 2022, 2,657,252 in 2021 and 2,553,439 in 2020. Educationists and educationalist cite an increase in poverty, the high cost of general education compared with that of madrassah education, child labour and a growing influence of the philosophy that Islamic political parties espouse as major reasons for the phenomenon.
Some say that the main reason for the situation is economic as education in schools and colleges is more expensive compared with that in madrassahs. Poverty has forced some to send their children to madrassahs, where the expense is low, whilst some others have sent their children to work amidst growing poverty. The Education Watch 2023 report of the Campaign for Popular Education says that secondary education expenses have increased by 51 per cent mainly because of private tuition and the purchase of guidebooks and notebooks. An Institute of Education and Research teacher, however, says that increased madrassah enrolment began with the Covid outbreak when general institutions had been closed but madrassahs had been open, noting that the philosophy that madrassahs espouse has been active in politics which may have motivated people in rural areas to send their children to madrassahs. A Campaign for Popular Education research, launched in March 2024, however, says that the shift towards madrassahs may have been influenced by the Covid-induced socio-economic impact. Whilst the government has issues to mend, it should for now attend to some and spend more on schools and colleges to make education less expensive. It should also deal with madrassah education with curriculum upgrades and further control so that people educated in the system may land jobs that are beneficial for their sustenance and productive for the country. It should also take up a holistic approach towards a uniform, mass-oriented system of education.
Whilst the government should finally establish a commitment to universal education by creating a uniform, mass-oriented system, and extend free and compulsory education to all children up to a level, keeping to the constitutional provision, it should plug the loopholes in both general and madrassah education until a uniform system is in place.