Pakistan Looks to Reform Madrasas

Reuters reports that President Musharraf has reached out to the state of West Bengal in India seeking to replicate their success in reforming Pakistan's madrasas (religious schools).


Apparently West Bengal's madrasas are a model of tolerance, places where Christian and Hindu students feel comfortable studying. This is a very heartening move on the part of the Pakistani government as the 12,000 madrasas, which provide schooling to "about one million boys from impoverished families", have become breeding grounds for religious extremists who have contributed to religion-based violence in Pakistan.

The model in West Bengal has the state running half the madrasas. Adopting this model would likely require significant and a very welcome investment in the Pakistan school system. DIL currently runs some government schools in Sheikhupura, near Lahore in order to improve the quality of education.