Religious affairs minister orders mosque-based education kept free of party influence

Religious Affairs Minister Kazi Shah Mofazzal Hossain (Kaikobad) has said the Islamic Foundation's mosque-based child and mass education programme was heavily partisan over the past 17 years. He directed that the programme now be kept free of political influence to ensure proper religious and moral education for children.

He gave the direction in his chair's speech at the 237th meeting of the Board of Governors of the Islamic Foundation, held on Sunday in the foundation's meeting room at Baitul Mukarram.

The minister said mosque-based maktab education began under the vision of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman and Begum Khaleda Zia to teach children the Holy Quran in the morning and strengthen manners, morality and religious feeling. Over the past 17 years, he said, this curriculum was heavily partisan.

The maktab system must be rescued from the influence of any political party and restored to a genuine environment of religious and moral education, he said.

Presenting the picture of primary education, the minister said Bangladesh currently has about 120,000 primary schools. The meeting discussed forming a special reform committee so that proper religious and moral education is arranged in primary schools and political influence is removed from maktab activities.

Referring to Qawmi madrasa teachers and hafezes, the minister praised their role in teaching the Quran accurately. The contribution of memorising and teaching all 30 paras of the Quran without specific error should be evaluated generously and their rights ensured, he said.

At the meeting he called for freeing maktab activities from party influence, strengthening supervision in respective areas, and making all-out efforts to implement the vision given by the prime minister. He also urged dedication to implementing the goals for which Prime Minister Tarique Rahman assigned responsibility through the Board of Governors.

State Minister for Religious Affairs Mohammad Shamim Kaiser said the current government has set a target of creating 10 million new jobs during its term. Completing the Islamic Foundation's recruitment quickly can play an important role in job creation, he said.

Cox's Bazar-4 MP Shahjahan Chowdhury, University Grants Commission Chairman Professor Dr Mamun Ahmed, Religious Affairs Secretary Munshi Alauddin Al Azad, and Islamic Foundation Director General Mufti Muhammad Muhibbullahil Baqi, along with other governors, spoke at the meeting.