Madrassah education
I appreciate this thought provoking argument but there is apprehension about the new system insofar as it relates to the word 'unification'. What about madrassah education, which is under scrutiny because of the recent spate of bomb attacks all over the country and the tumultuous situation with concern about 'fundamentalism', 'extremism' and 'fanaticism'.
As a hot issue, madrassah education has been targeted and politicised indiscriminately. As a result our society is going to be divided, and political intolerance and violence will become acute. The so-called 'secularism' and 'reactionary' debate and the politics of labelling are making our peaceful society unstable, and the misuse of our sacred religion is unacceptable. Above all, it is our children who are being used as political pawns in the name of religion.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. As an extremely poor country, with stark ideological polarisation, this trend makes our lives tougher than ever before. With different ideology, mission and vision, madrasah students are being discriminated in terms of their professional lives and career opportunity and employment. So, why don't we talk about the assimilation of our different types of education system in one track? Why don't we think about a homogenous educated generation so that our society and its people cannot be divided? I would appreciate the government's unified education system if madrassah education could be included within the common minimum programme of education system. In rural areas, science, commerce and humanities groups are very difficult to run in every institution because, teachers and equipment are not available out there in every madrassah Moreover, there is no opportunity for commerce education under the madrassah system. Science education is also a far cry for most of those institutions. So, a common minimum programme for Bengali track and madrassah education system can prevent all the disputes about our current education crisis.
Talking about de-emphasizing of science education in the unified system seems to me a little bit imaginary, and rhetorical as well. Of course, we do not need to create another Newton or Einstein for invention of the laws of motion and the Theory of Relativity, need we? It is already invented; rather, we should get it by heart and make practical use of it. Furthermore, every student would not pursue higher education in science. And, even the students of science group also need social, behavioural and moral education for their practical lives because, human beings are not instruments or machines, rather, social creature with certain values, norms and customs.
The government can minimise religious courses from madrassah curriculum and make a common religious education with a few options for all the students in secondary level. I think this assimilation process can give maximum benefit to our society.