The madrasa education sector is lagging behind the mainstream system in Bangladesh and depriving a significant number of students of a modernized education, Madrasa education division data has revealed.
According to a Technical and Madrasa Education Division report, around 75% of madrasa teachers have no training whatsoever and the other 25% have only minimal training discharged over a course spanning one, three, or seven days.
This is despite education being an important indicator in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by 2030.
To achieve the SDG-4, it is essential that all madrasa teachers be trained by the year 2025.
“Quality teachers are a must for ensuring education and achieving the SDG goals,” the director general of the madrasa education division, Md Billal Hossain, told the Bangla Tribune. “To create quality teachers, training is essential.”
Billal said a proposal is to be sent to the education ministry soon to establish a regional office in the area and to provide training to madrasa teachers.
“We are making an effort to launch a project aimed at training the madrasa teachers,” he said. “Under this initiative, the capacity of Bangladesh Madrasa Teachers Training Institute (BMTTI) in Gazipur will be increased.”
According to madrasa division sources, the BMTTI located in Gazipur is the only training institute for madrasa teachers, and is capable of training only 2,500 teachers each year.
However, Madrasa education division data shows that there are around 119,587 teachers at Dakhil and Kamil madrasas, 4,529 teachers at Ebtedayee madrasas and 1,228 teachers for teaching information and communication technology (ICT).
Addressing the issue, division officials said it would not be possible to train 100% of the madrasa teachers by 2030, as Bangladesh lacks adequate training facilities for them.
For teachers in general education, by comparison, there are currently 66 primary training institutes, 14 government teachers’ training college, and 104 non-government teacher training colleges.