Two More Years For Madrassah Students To Join New Curriculum

Madrassah students will have to wait for at least two more years to get their specialised textbooks under the new national curriculum that has already been introduced for general students, authorities said.

The National Curriculum and Textbook Board authorities said that they would start working on the specialised textbooks for madrassah students in July.

Officials at the Directorate of Madrasah Education feared that if their students could not move with others at the same pace, they would lag behind.

The new national curriculum was introduced to Class I at the primary level and to Classes VI and VII at the secondary level in 2023.

Students of Classes II and III at the primary level and of Classes VIII and IX at the secondary level have started their studies under the new curriculum this year.

The classes, which are yet to come under the new curriculum, are running under the outgoing national curriculum of 2012.

Currently, Ebtedayee or primary level madrassah students are reading books designed for general students, with three additional specialised books—Quran Majeed and Tajweed, Aqaid and Fiqh and Ad Dururul Arabiah—for them.

The Dakhil, or secondary level, students are also reading all books designed for general students, with three additional specialised books—Quran Majeed and Tajweed, Al Aqaid Wal Fiqh, Al Lugutul Arabiyatul Ittesalia, Qawaid Al Lugutul Arabiah, and Hadith Sharif—for them. 

Directorate of Madrassah Education director general, Md Habibur Rahman, said that the general textbooks are the same for both general and madrassah students.

‘The NCTB will fix the framework for the new specialised textbooks for us before they are introduced,’ he said.  

Habibur was worried that madrassah students would fall behind in case of a delay in setting up the framework.

‘If they cannot go at the same pace as others, they will be lagging behind. This is why we are maintaining regular contacts with the NCTB,’ he said.

Habibur said that until specialised textbooks under the new national curriculum were introduced for madrassah, students would be evaluated for general subjects under the new curriculum and for specialised subjects under the outgoing curriculum. 

BRAC University distinguished professor Manzoor Ahmed observed that madrassah students had already fallen behind.

He was against rushing the new curriculum for madrassah students, saying that this might be counterproductive.

It should also be properly assessed how the new curriculum is implemented for general students, he said. 

Education Watch chairperson, Professor Qazi Kholiquzzaman, did not oppose the NCTB taking time to update the books for madrassah students. 

‘It’s not possible to do all work at the same time,’ he said. ‘If madrassah students study properly, they will not lag behind,’ he said. 

NCTB member professor Md Moshiuzzaman said that they had started work on the new curriculum in 2017-2018 by conducting research.

‘We at first worked on books for general students that were not benefiting madrassah students,’ he said, adding that by July they would complete the works for Class X general students and then start working on textbooks for madrassah students.  

‘It will take around two years to introduce textbooks for madrassah,’ he said.

Moshiuzzaman added that the new curriculum for madrassah students would also be implemented gradually.