Alia Madrasa: An education system on its death bed

The article on Alia madrasa based education system published in Star Weekend on October 27, 2017 really drew my attention. The article was very well researched and I would like to thank the writer for bringing this significant but neglected issue to light. However, a few important points were absent in his article. Academic achievements of the current Alia madrasa students in spite of severe shortage of teaching-learning resources were not mentioned. In this regard, I would like to mention that 84 students of an Alia madrasa called Ta'mirul Millat Alia Madrasa passed Dhaka University's B Unit admission test this year which is an awe-inspiring record for any institution. Besides, our government does not patronise Alia madrasa based education at all. There are only three government controlled Alia madrasas in the entire country which is a negligible number in comparison to the number of government controlled schools and colleges. The writer could focus more on these issues. I believe our government should invest more on Alia madrasas. It is an effective and unique education system which can produce skilled graduates equipped with ethical and moral knowledge. I would like to reiterate the quote stated by our Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid, "If a madrasa student becomes an engineer, he will not steal rods and use bamboo sticks in its place to construct a building."

Shahidul Islam 

Azimpur, Dhaka

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