Dhaka, July 27 (BDNEWS) – Tension has developed between BNP and its coalition partner Jamaat-e-Islami over giving Fazil degree graduate status and Kamil degree post-graduate status. Under the circumstances, the Islamic University Act is not going to be reformed soon.
Sources concerned said, the Islamic parties gave BNP three conditions – giving the teachers in Ebtadai madrasas the same status and salary as the primary school teachers, removing the discrimination between madrasa education and general education and affiliating the madrasas under an Arabic University.
After the election the government formed a 13-member reform committee on January 12, 2002 headed by vice-chancellor of the Islamic University Dr Mustafizur Rahman for the implementation of the three demands. On March 11 of the same year a report on the amendment of the Islamic University Act, 1980 and the Madrasa Education Ordnance, 1978 was submitted to the Education Ministry.
Ministry sources said, a cabinet committee was formed led by LGRD minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan for implementation of the recommendations. The committee held five meeting in three and a half years without taking any significant decision.
The cabinet committee formed another committee led by the vice-chancellor of the National University to evaluate the report of the Islamic University committee. After a long period of evaluation, the committee submitted a report based on the recommendations to the Education Ministry on March 15.
The report recommended modelling 1400-number Fazil pass course of three-year duration like the three-year BA pass course of the National University(NU), 2100-number Fazil Honours course like BA Honours course of the NU and 500-number Kamil course like the master's course of general education. The report also recommended holding the examinations of the same status simultaneously.
It is mentioned in the report though there are 1,062 Fazil and 173 Kamil madrasas in the country the provision of appointing 12 teachers for every subject in the Madrasas is yet to be introduced which has already been applied in general Masters course. The report also emphasized on the coordination of manpower in the Madrasas in this regard.
The coalition partner Islamic Parties have started blaming the LGRD & Cooperatives Minister for the delay in implementing the pledges made by the government. They said that the decisions would be implemented if the Education Minister or the Religious Affairs Minister had been made the head of the cabinet committee on Madrasa Education.
The fifth meeting of the cabinet committee on Madrasa education was held Wednesday at the conference room of the local government department in the Secretariat.
After the meeting president of the committee and LGRD and Cooperatives minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan told the journalists that though law is enacted it might take five to seven years to implement it.
He also said the National University has been given the responsibility to prepare the syllabus and reports on various matters in this regard.
Among others, Education Minister M Osman Farruk, Law Minister Barrister Moudud Ahmed, Water Resources Minister Hafizuddin Ahmed, Industries Minister Matiur Rahman Nizami and concerned officials of different ministries were present.
The Education Minister told the journalists there are some complicacies in giving Fazil and Kamil the status of Honours and Masters degree of general education.
He said that they have been contemplating the issues regarding the students of Fazil and Kamil and also those who obtained the degrees.
He also said that since there are 1,062 Madrasas in the country the standard of the teachers working there must be ensured.
It would require appointment of 2000 to 2500 teachers in the educational institutions after upgrading those, which can't be done at a time. It would be implemented in phases, he added.
BDNEWS/2014 hrs