Investing in the children of the Islamic world

It has been held that we should give up the sedentary urban life and return to the invigorating asabiah comradeship. It has also been suggested that every Muslim should have four wives and desire forty children, ten sons should be dedicated to the cause of jihad. A Muslim can fulfil his jihad duty by the heart, by the tongue, by the hand, and by the sword. The final suggestion is that the Muslims should go nuclear and produce Islamic bomb, the ultimate symbol of political power, security and supremacy.

These half serious and light-hearted descriptions of Muslims do not amuse us.

Bangladesh is a country of lush green and roaring rivers that may not generate the sense of desert asabiah. Unlike the wise Chinese we are a little argumentative people. We have restricted polygamy forty-five years ago. In 1972 our country was described as one of the twelve potential nuclear powers. We have, however, long ago ratified the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. As a poor country our aims are rather modest.

I shall dwell on and say a few words on the children's education. On the strength of my middle class background, I have some partisan views on the dissemination of education. I agree wholeheartedly with Horace Mann (1848) that "Education then, beyond all other devices of human origin is a great equaliser of the conditions of men, the balance wheel of the social machinery".

In article 17 of our Constitution it has been laid down that: "The State shall adopt effective measures for the purpose of (a) establishing a uniform, mass-oriented and universal system of education and extending free and compulsory education to all children to such stage as may be determined by law; (b) relating education to the needs of society and producing properly trained and motivated citizens to serve those needs; (c) removing illiteracy within such time as may be determined by law."

In article 25(2) of the Constitution it has, amongst other objectives in its international relations, been provided that, "(2) The State shall endeavour to consolidate, preserve and strengthen fraternal relations among Muslim countries based on Islamic solidarity."

These constitutional commitments will be my guidelines, and they may appear to you rather relevant for our deliberations on today's subject matter.

However, the greatest obstruction in attaining the millennium development goals is great discrimination between the rich and the poor. In case of the death-rate of newly born babies, in case of child death-rate up to 5 years of age, on the question of nutrition of mother and child, and on the question of access to quality primary education and secondary education the discrimination rate is very frustrating. The income disparities are widening. If we fail to remove this gap, 40-50 millions of people will remain poor.

The progresses recently achieved by us in the fields of education, primary and mass education and women's education have been acclaimed all over the world.

Budgetary allocations have been increased for the education sector.

The textbooks have reached the doorsteps of students before the start of academic years. The stipend programmes have been expanded. Free education for girls is available up to class twelve. In the future it will extend up to the under-graduate level. The rate of drop-outs in primary education has declined. The number of pupils is on the rise and the proportion of boys and girls is now nearly equal.

In 1960 in his Presidential Address to the American Economic Association, Theodore Schultz made a revolutionary statement that education was a kind of investment by which necessary human capital was built. In 1979 when he was awarded the Nobel Prize he reiterated his views and laid great emphasis on the role of education for the growth of human capital. In the developing countries where adequate attention is not placed on education and training, there is little or no chance for economic development.

It is considered by well-meaning people all over the world that education must be responsive to the specific requirements of the nation, must have relevance to future work and life, and must provide adequate preparation for productive employment.

It should be made free and fair so that every individual can develop his/her creative abilities and make useful to himself/herself and society as a whole. It should develop a scientific, idealistic and society useful attitude among the people so that they are free from prejudice and corruption.

In spite of progress made in recent years, our education system is yet to meet fully the overall demand of the country for human resource development.

Share of expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP is rather inadequate. The dropout rate in primary school is as high as 56 per cent. Only 2.2 per cent of GNP is spent on education and 39 per cent of it is spent on primary education. There exists an ever-widening, rural-urban difference. For the current expenditure on education, the ultra-poor group constituting about 40 per cent of population receive only 4.3 per cent of benefit in terms of expenditure. The situation is almost same in case of development expenditure on education also.

Market mechanism cannot achieve an adequate allocation of resources in favour of education. Growth in the education sector largely depends upon public investment. Our educational planning is probably the most difficult challenge in our country.

The resources available are limited, but the objectives to be accomplished are numerous and enormous.

It is my considered view that all students should be given the first lesson in their mother tongue and they at first try to know their own country, and then their neighbours, then their Muslim brothers and lastly, though not of the least importance, the rest of the world. It may be inadvisable to inculcate the ideas of darul Islam and darul harb at the formative stage. We should rather try to foster ideas of darul aman, darul ahad and taquia.

When for fostering international cooperation and effective implementation of the Convention several bodies like the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the International Labour Organisation (ILO), and the local or international bodies representing various religions are working together we should try to work on the basis of darul ahad and/or darus sulh.

Let us insist less on uniqueness and distinctiveness when Allah has himself said that He could have made the whole mankind as one single nation, but he has created several nations so that they can interact and learn from each other. No one nation has been given the absolute supremacy to destroy the balance of power among peoples. This tolerant, humane and universal approach will be of great help in keeping peace for future investment for the children in the Islamic countries.

Bangladesh is the first Asian country to ratify the Convention. In 1994 a Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs was established for giving effect to the objectives of the Convention. In August 1995 a National Policy for Children was adopted and the National Children's Council was established. An interministerial committee has been established to regularly monitor the process of fulfilling children's rights. The mass media has given priority to 'Facts for Life' and messages on children's and women's right.

In the area of legislative reform, it was planned to create task forces on law reforms, juvenile justice and the girl child. Judges and police officers are being trained in protecting juveniles in conflict with the law and improving the conditions of juveniles under detention.

Yet, because of poverty and ignorance, many of Bangladesh's children were trafficked outside the country after falling into the hands of traffickers. Some of them have been brought home through diplomatic efforts. It is hoped that mechanical or robot camel-jockeys will soon be used to amuse the playful owners of racing camels.

By qalm, the pen and by kitab, the book let our Lord Allah help us all.

Muhammad Habibur Rahman is a former Chief Justice and Head of the caretaker government 1996. The article is based on his speech as head of Bangladesh delegation to the First Islamic Ministerial Conference on the Child held at Rabat, Morocco 7-9 November.