THE education policy 2009, recently finalised by the government but not announced yet, includes a whole chapter on Islamic education. It stipulates that the vision for Islamic education in the National Curriculum is the “transformation of society on Islamic and human values” and, as mandated in the Constitution of Pakistan, “ all steps will be taken to enable Muslims of Pakistan, individually and collectively, to order their lives in accordance with the fundamental principles and basic concepts of Islam, and to provide facilities whereby they may be enabled to understand the meaning of life according to the Holy Quran and Sunnah.”

If the ‘transformation’ of society is intended then it is highly unlikely to happen, keeping in view the way Islamic teaching is done in our schools. Rote-learning and endless reproduction of the content in every class from class 3 onwards in our schools have made the subject something that the students have to unwillingly live with throughout their stay in school and college. In fact, the new policy’s Islamiyat curriculum is so extensive that covering it might consume half the school day.

If the government wants to achieve its objectives then it must take a long, hard look at the way it has to be imparted. Firstly, the syllabus content should not be repetitive but a new aspect or theme introduced in each class. Secondly, lessons must be interactive and interesting with the inclusion of a simple research activity (find out) as part of the lesson planning. Thirdly, the principles and beliefs must be internalised so that they are applied in real life. For example, in namaz, the concept of ‘saffein bandhna’ is obligatory so its practical aspect is that in order to expedite organisation of a particular activity making a queue is a must.

Unfortunately, we often see our educated elite breaking queues while the common man is seen standing in long queues outside banks to pay utility bills. The injustice is apparent in not just this but most societal concerns and this is not what Islam teaches. The whole process of formulating a religious curriculum is a highly skilled procedure which must cater to ‘human values’ as expressed in the new policy document.

This entails that religious tolerance, communal harmony and respect (adab) is inculcated at all levels in the syllabus. Discrimination of minorities is not part of Islamic teachings and they must be accorded equal rights and opportunities in an Islamic state and the new policy gives credence to this fact. The underlying crucial factor is that in religious matters we are dealing with young, susceptible and vulnerable minds. It is a delicate balance to achieve so that it does not turn into indoctrination and religious bias.

So how do we place Islamiyat in its right perspective in the curriculum? The science of theology has been perfected into a discipline in the West and Comparative Religions is a relevant subject. Furthermore, Islamic religion is taught in the same mode there at master’s and doctoral level where critique is essential to the thought process.

But we as a nation should not be looking that way either. Islamic teachings have been researched and perfected in our own Islamic Universities like the Al-Azhar University at Cairo, Jamia Millia and Nadvat-ul-Islam in India and the universities in Medina, Morocco, Malaysia and Indonesia. Moreover, expatriate Muslim communities in North America and Europe have innovated and created curriculum for Muslim students at pre-school, primary, elementary and high school levels which are part of mainstream secular schooling there.

In Pakistan, religious teaching has not been standardised or accredited in a form that can inform teaching of religion at the basic and secondary level. What is usually done is that the syllabus content is decided upon for each class, a textbook produced and the teacher is just equipped to deliver the course content in time for the examination. At home, it is essential to learn by heart small surahs and the Quranic duas (supplication) from childhood and this is mostly done with the help of visiting teachers (Maulvis) in affluent homes or at the mosque by children from lower and middle income groups. Moreover, in the same pattern the entire Quran is taught as recitation in Arabic.

This encompasses the fact that a child can read the Quran in Arabic with the correct pronunciation and intonations. By the time a child enters formal schooling, he/she is already familiar with reading of the Quran in Arabic, has memorised the short surahs and is familiar with some rituals like saying ‘namaz’ and the communal activity of fasting in the month of Ramazan.

The two festivals of Eid and Friday prayers are visible manifestations for students since childhood. However, in today’s fast paced society the role of mothers and grandparents in initiating the child into the religion and ‘adab’ is rapidly dying out and this is where the school can pick up the teaching of the religion as per the educational policy directive.

The new education policy document states that : “Apart from infusing Islamic and religious teachings in the curriculum wherever appropriate, Islamiyat is being taught as a compulsory core subject from Early Childhood Education to Higher Secondary School levels extending up to graduation in all general and professional institutions so as to create a tolerant and peace loving society with vision of finding solutions to the real life problems through the teachings of the Holy Quran and Sunnah. To further augment Islamic teachings, Advanced Islamic Studies has also been introduced at Grades IX-X and XI-XII as an elective subject.”

In terms of reference, the course stipulated for Islamiyat is not very different from the previous policies and continues on the same pattern. However, it goes further by introducing advanced Islamic studies at Grades 9, 10, 11 and 12. Again, in terms of reference, the topics emanate from and are the core of Islamic teachings.

However, it has been experienced in the past that the teaching and learning of the subject in Pakistani classrooms has become so mechanical that children just learn by rote, take the examination as a subject that has to be passed and then they are done with it. Rarely is the subject taken up later for its value, interest and ‘transformatory’ aspect at an advanced level. If it is at all taken up, the motive is to achieve a grade easily.

Another important factor is the teacher. Educational Policy 2009 has recognised and addressed this gap in previous policies. The policy states that well qualified teachers shall be appointed for the teaching of Islamiyat and Arabic. The pre-service and in-service teachers shall be trained at teacher training institutes.

Previously, Islamiyat teachers had no qualifications to take up religious teaching. It was seen that those who could not be accommodated as teachers for any other subjects were usually asked to teach Islamiyat. Such disdain reflects that Islamiyat was neither a key subject nor one that merited much care or importance in the curriculum.

The new policy says ‘Well qualified teachers shall be appointed for the teaching of Islamiyat.” But what will be the criteria for such teachers? Will they be our rote learnt M.As and B.As or especially trained teachers in the delicate and sensitive art of teaching religion?

The policy states that “Islamic teachings will be part of the curriculum of Teacher Training Institutes”. If the entire Quran is studied in translation to understand its meaning and application, then it might be worth it. But if the “Islamic teachings” are another syllabus of isolated surahs and hadith which the prospective teachers have already studied at M.A, B.A and B.Ed, the ‘transformation’ is not going to take place. The nobility, honesty of purpose and educating for the national good that a teacher must demonstrate will be sorely lacking again.

The Quaid-i-Azam in most of his speeches refers to the principles and guidance from the Quran on which the Pakistani nation should rest its polity and national character. His first speech to the Constituent Assembly in 1947 listed four evils that Pakistanis must guard against — bribery, corruption, nepotism and black-marketing.

For sixty two years, it is these four evils that have impeded the progress and well-being of the nation. The educational policy’s vision is to transform the nation through the same Islamic principles that the Quaid spoke of. In its present form, the policy’s aims are doomed to failure if the curriculum for Islamiyat is to have the same content and delivered in the same fashion as before.