The government has brought 9,397 madrasas under webportal aiming to modernize madrasa education to develop skilled workforce in the country.
“We have opened webportals for 9,397 madrasas since 2014 as part of a massive digitization campaign for building a digital Bangladesh,” Chairman of Madrasa Education Board Prof AKM Saif Ullah told BSS.
He said training programmes have been taken for enhancing skills of teachers for updating and smooth functioning of the webportals. Under the programmes, a webportal training manual has been developed, he added.
As many as 400 madrasa teachers have been given daylong orientation training to create master trainers, Prof Saif Ullah added.
He said, “Heads of madrasas have been directed to develop and update the webportals. We have developed a webportal training manual for better training of computer teachers of madrasas.”
The work on webportal training is expected to complete by the current fiscal year, Prof Saif Ullah said, adding 9,500 madrasa teachers have significantly contributed to the activities of madrasa education board.
Referring to different digitization activities for madrasa education, he said the madrasa board has been publishing paperless results of JDC, Dhakhil and Alim examinations since 2014.
Prof Saif Ullah said 35 model madrasas have been set up and modern computer labs have been installed there. We have also introduced honour course in 52 madrasas under Islamic Arabic University.
The Education Ministry sources said quality of madrasa education has improved as the government has taken various initiatives in the past eight years.
They said the government has taken initiatives including scholarships for meritorious students to check drop-out rate in madrasa education.
A total of 15,000 students at the madrasa level are awarded general scholarship while 75,000 students get talent pool scholarship.
The government has already taken massive initiatives to promote Islamic education incorporating science and technology aiming to build competent workforce, according to a top official of the ministry.
“As part of modernization process of madrasa education, we have made huge infrastructural developments with scientific and technological facilities,” he added.
Some 1,300 new buildings for madrasas were constructed to expand madrasa education across the country. “Alongside infrastructural development, we have prepared modern curriculum incorporating science and technological knowledge to make madrasa education time-befitting,” he added.
Nearly six lakh students are now studying in Fazil and Kamil madrasas, he said adding this figure is very impressive and encouraging for expansion of higher madrasa education.
“As part of a massive digitization campaign, multimedia classrooms have so far been set up in 5 ,500 madrasas…. Multimedia classrooms will be installed in the remaining madrasas in phases,” he added.
