Bangladesh, beside BOU all traditional universities must provide ODL (Open Distance Learning)
as dual-mode or multi-mode institutions.100
Furquenia, Hafizia & Quaumi Madrasah
Besides the public system of Madrasah education a good number of private institutions' offer traditional
Islamic teaching to Muslim boys and girls. These are known as Furquania Madrasah, Hafizi& Madrasah
and Quami or Nizamia Madrasah. Furquania Madrasas offer basic education (maximum 4 years) on Islam
including Arabic language, Quran recitation, elementary Bengali language and simple arithmetic. Hafizia
madrasah is exclusively meant for 'Hifz' or the memorising of the entire Quran. Children of the earliest
possible age group join these institutions and complete their programme within the required period. Mostly
these institutions are residential and attached to a Masjid.
Qawmi is another major madrassa in Bangladesh. The Qawmi madrasas are not regulated by the
Bangladesh Madrasah Education Board. In Qawmi madrasa, students mainly read religious and Arabic
subjects. At present, some Qawmi madrasas have general subjects till class eight. The government formed
an education commission for Qawmi madrasas to monitor the education system there and the commission
report was approved in April, 2012. 101
As private charitable organizations, Qawmi madrasahs are supported almost exclusively by donation.
Qawmi Madrasas arrange their academic programme according to grades of one year each beginning from
Grade I to Grade XIV named in Arabic. It follows the Deoband syllabus where knowledge of modern
science is not imparted and emphasis is on Arabic, Persian and Urdu languages.102 The final grades are
called Daurah. Traditionally students who obtain a 'Kamil’ degree by passing the 'Daurah' stage, use the title
'Moulana' with their names.
103
According to the education policy 2010, the primary education will have an integration of the streams
existing in the field: all the streams will study some specific subjects which will have a common syllabus.
This can be supported from the viewpoint of integrating the fragmented portions of the society: these
100
ibid
101
Wadud (n 92)
102
Supriya Singh, ‘Recognizing Qaumi Madrasas in Bangladesh: Boon or a Bane?’ Institute of Peace and Conflict
Studies, < http://www.ipcs.org/article/bangladesh/recognizing-qaumi-madrasas-in-bangladesh-boon-or-a-bane-2114.html
> accessed 1 June 2014
BANBEIS (n 93)10
103
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