Islami Andolan Bangladesh has called upon the government to take immediate and effective measures to eliminate the “extreme discrimination” prevailing in the country’s madrasa education system.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the party’s Secretary General, Yunus Ahmad, highlighted a widening gap in state support, citing data from the latest ‘Education Statistics 2024’.
According to the report, the proportion of trained teachers in Madrasas has plummeted to just 9.19 percent, marking the lowest level in the last 13 years.
The secretary general pointed out that while 66.10 percent of secondary school teachers are trained, the significantly lower rate for Madrasa teachers represents a form of “extreme discrimination” by the state.
He noted that the training rate has remained unsatisfactory for over a decade, with its highest peak reaching only 27.69 percent in 2023. This trend, he argued, suggests that a vast majority of madrasa teachers have been consistently deprived of professional development opportunities.
Criticising the lack of infrastructure, Yunus Ahmad stated that having only one central training institution for the entire country is “not at all adequate” to develop a skilled teaching workforce. He contrasted this with the primary and secondary sectors, which benefit from Primary Training Institutes (PTIs) and other centres at the district level.
To address this disparity, Ahmad proposed a two-tier solution:
Long-term: The establishment of Madrasa teacher training centres at the district level; Immediate: Facilitating training for Madrasa teachers within the existing PTI network.
He further drew attention to the unequal treatment of students. He noted that while students in general primary education receive mid-day meals, stipends, and uniforms, Madrasa students are excluded from such benefits.
Expressing his indignation, he remarked that most recent initiatives in the education sector have focused solely on general education, describing the situation as “shameful”.
He asserted that such “stepmotherly treatment” towards students based on their choice of Madrasa education is “unimaginable in any civilised country”.
Concluding his statement, the secretary general reminded the government that the fundamental spirit of the Great Liberation War and the July Mass Uprising was the creation of a “discrimination-free Bangladesh”. He stressed that it is the state’s constitutional responsibility to ensure equal opportunities for all citizens without bias and urged the government to act swiftly to end the neglect of Madrasa education.
