A synthesis of studies of Madrassas and other Quranic ... of studies 2007_11_30 reworked .pdf · A...

A synthesis of studies of Madrassas

and other Quranic Schooling Centres

in

Gambia, Mali, Niger and Sénégal

by

Laouali Malam Moussa and Yves Benett

with Abdoulie Bittaye

Urbain Dembele

Ousmane Guéyé

Ibrahima Kane

Makareih N’Jie

November 2007

ROCARE / ERNWACA • Tel: (223) 221 16 12 • Fax: (223) 221 21 15 • BP E 1854, Bamako, MALI

Bénin • Burkina Faso • Cameroun • Côte d’Ivoire • Gambia • Ghana • Guinée • Mali • Mauritanie • Nigeria • Niger • Sénégal • Sierra Leone • Togo

www.rocare.org

Synthesis of studies 2007_11_30 reworked .doc i

CONTENTS page EXECUTIVE SUMMARY iii Acronyms v Acknowledgements v CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 The Background 1

1.1.1 The EDUCATION FOR ALL (EFA) imperative 1 1.1.2 The NON-FORMAL EDUCATION (NFE) imperative 2

1.2 The Research Problem 3 1.2.1 The Research Question 3

1.3 The Research Aim 4 1.4 Project implementation 4 CHAPTER II. THE METHODOLOGY 6 2.1 Methods and procedures 6

2.1.1 The Data Collection procedures for the Baseline Survey and the Case Studies

7

2.1.2 The Procedures for collecting the Self-Completion Questionnaire data 7 2.1.2.1 The Preliminary steps 7 2.1.2.2 The achieved sample of “schools” for the Baseline Survey 8 2.1.2.3 The Contents of the Self-Completion Questionnaire 8

2.1.3 The Procedures for conducting the Interviews at each “school” 8 2.1.3.1 The sub-sample of “schools” for the interviews 9 2.1.3.2 The contents of the Interview Guides for the Individual Interviews 9

2.1.4 Some implications of the methodology 10 2.1.4.1 The Implications for the Work Plan 10 2.1.4.2 The Implications for the development of the Research Instruments

cross-nationally and for the Synthesis of the research findings 10

2.1.4.3 The Implications for the validity and reliability of the findings 10 2.2 The methods and procedures for the Data Analyses 12

2.2.1 The Discourse Analysis 12 2.2.2 The Curriculum Analysis 13 2.2.3 The Statistical Analysis of the Baseline Survey data 14 2.2.4 The Case Study Analysis 14 2.2.5 The Cross – National Analysis 15

CHAPTER III THE SYNTHESIS OF LITERATURE REVIEW 15 3.1 Historical Overview of Islamic Education: Madrassas and other Quranic

Schooling Centres 16

3.2 The Islamic School System 17 3.3 The Assessment of learning 19 3.4 The Teachers 20 3.5 Islamic education systems in other Muslim countries 20 CHAPTER IV THE RESULTS OF THE BASELINE SURVEY 22 4.1 PART A: The findings of the quantitative research 22

4.1.1 School Type and School location 23 4.1.2 School size and School enrolment 24

4.1.2.1. The Gender Ratio in “School” enrolment 25 4.1.3 The “School” Curriculum 28

4.1.3.1 The Curriculum framework ___ the strategic component 28 4.1.3.2 The time allocations for the programmes of study 29 4.1.3.3 Curriculum Control 29 4.1.3.4 The Skills Component of the curriculum 37 4.1.3.5 Vocational education and training 39

4.1.4 School Effectiveness 41 4.1.4.1 Internal Efficiency 41 4.1.4.1.1 The Pass Rates 41 4.1.4.1.2 The School Drop-outs 42

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Page 4.1.4.1.3 The organisation of student groups 43 4.1.4.2 External Efficiency 45 4.1.4.3 School Resources ___ the School Budget 46

4.1.5 School Management 47 4.1.5.1 School Governance 47 4.1.5.2 The “School” Managers 50 4.1.5.3 The “School” teachers 53 4.1.5.4 The School – Community link 55 4.2 PART B: The findings of the qualitative research 58

4.2.1 Educational policy and curriculum development 58 4.2.2 Islamic education management 59 4.2.3 Monitoring and evaluation 59 4.2.4 School running budget 60 4.2.5 Organizational culture 61

4.3 Overview of the case studies 61 4.3.1. The Gambia 61 4.3.2. Mali 62 4.3.3. Niger 63 4.3.4. Senegal 64

CHAPTER V DISCUSSION 65 5.1 Discussion of the quantitative data 65 5.2 Discussion of the qualitative data 70 CHAPTER VI CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 71 6.1 Conclusion 71 6.2 Recommendations 72 6.3 Concept papers 73

6.3.1 Developing a curriculum for Islamic education including non-religious content

75

6.3.2 Leadership training for the Managers of Madrassas and for those of other Quranic Schooling Centres

76

6.3.3 The introduction of Vocational subjects in the school curriculum in Gambia

79

6.3.4 The Training and Professional Development of Teachers of all levels in Madrassas and other QSCs

80

6.3.5 Piloting two experimental projects (one in a reformed Madrassa and one in a Daara), in Sénégal.

81

References 82 APPENDIX 1 Questionnaire For Managers/ Headteachers/Principals /Directors of

Madrassas or other Quranic Schooling Centres /Settings 87

APPENDIX 2 Interview Guide For Managers/ Headteachers /Principals /Directors of Madrassas or other Quranic Schooling Centres (QSCs) and Settings

101

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction This report is based on a study of Madrassas and other Quranic Schooling Centres (QSCs) in Gambia, Mali, Niger and Sénégal, respectively. The study was commissioned by UNESCO and was undertaken by an ERNWACA cross-national research team.

The aim of the study was to describe and analyse how Madrassas and other QSCs (referred to as “schools”) facilitate access to Basic Education (in particular to literacy and livelihood skills), in order for UNESCO to promote the good practices observed in such educational institutions.

The methods used in each country were: (a) a Desk Study of relevant documents (b) a Baseline Survey of a sample of 105 Madrassas and 79 other QSCs, stratified by country and socio-economic area (rural/urban) (c) two Case Studies: one of a Madrassa and one of a QSC, and (d) Focus Group interviews, as appropriate.

For the Baseline Survey and the Case Studies, relevant data were collected by means of (a) a structured Self-Completion Questionnaire for the Managers of the sampled institutions and (b) semi-structured, on-site, individual interviews of a sample of Managers, teachers and other stakeholders. Both the questionnaire data and the interview data were appropriately analysed and, in each country, the Madrassas and the other QSCs together were taken to constitute a sector of the Islamic Education System.

The Research Findings

1 Access to the “schools” There has been of late an increase in the enrolment of both male and female students, along with an increase in the number of girls’ “schools” and a reduction in gender disparity. However, this quantitative expansion was largely driven by Privately-owned “schools” and by Community “schools” (except in Niger, which stands out with its Government sponsored Madrassas), in spite of many “schools” running at a financial deficit and making do with shockingly poor infrastructure.

2 The Curriculum There were wide differences between and within the four countries in the proportions of the total amount of time allocated weekly to the various Subject Areas in the curriculum; and within the same country, there were wide differences among the Madrassas, among the QSCs, and between the Madrassas and the QSCs. The “schools” seemed to have had a more or less free hand as regards the curriculum, but the “school” teachers were not always involved in curriculum development; and there appeared to be no formal, national assessment of student achievement levels in key curricular areas.

In general, Vocational education was available to a limited extent for Out-of–school Youth and for mature students, and either in the Madrassas or in the QSCs; and Pre-vocational education was available at Senior Secondary School level in Gambia and Niger.

Particularly arresting was the high proportion of the total amount of time allocated weekly for Islamic Studies and for the study of the Arabic language at the Madrassas, leaving little time at Junior Secondary/Upper Basic school level for the study of other Subject Areas, particularly Technical/ Business Subject Areas — although Mali offered these Subject Areas throughout the Basic Education cycle.

About the Skills Component of the curriculum, Studies of Peace-Building and Tolerance were offered fairly widely across the age groups in Gambia, Mali and Niger. There was some evidence too that Life Skills, Functional skills (in Mathematics, Budgeting for the household, and Literacy in the Official Language), Personal Skills and Learning Skills were offered in some “schools” within the Basic Education curriculum.

3 “School” Governance and Management The survey paints a picture of male-dominated “school” governing bodies of widely varying size and with a generally

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good representation of parents/guardians and of Islamic scholars — but with local employers grossly underrepresented (if at all).

Many “schools”, particularly the QSCs, were underfunded but some financial assistance was forthcoming from, for example, national and international Islamic Associations, Municipalities, and NGOs, respectively.

Regarding “school” efficiency and effectiveness, the finding that the drop-out-rate among teenage girls was higher than that among teenage boys, and that Awareness raising campaigns about gender equity were minimal was a cause for concern, as was the absence of tracer studies of former students’ destinations into work or employment —— and schooling was mostly seen as irrelevant to work or employment though very relevant to social integration.

Yet another cause for concern was the finding that the surveyed “schools” in the francophone countries (except Niger’s Madrassas) were operating under the leadership of mostly inadequately qualified and relatively inexperienced Managers who, however, had under their authority mostly professionally qualified full-time teachers — in contrast to what was found in anglophone Gambia where the management of most “schools” was in competent hands but not the teaching!!

Moreover, whilst a number of the Managers were pursuing their professional development by attending relevant academic or professional courses/ workshops, most teachers were not; and the courses/ workshops that the latter did attend were predominantly in-house (that is, school-based).

There was evidence of imaginative developments in all the four countries — for example, the development of a novel type of Daaras and the introduction of ICT programmes in Senegal, practical skills training for self-employment in Niger, the provision of Counselling Services for local communities in Mali, and the development of a unified syllabus for Basic Education in Gambia (for Madrassas and for schools in the formal sector of education).

Recommendations Six recommendations were made and some were developed into “Concept Papers” that could subsequently underpin interventions (by UNESCO or other funding agencies) in the sector in the four countries. The recommendations focused on:

■ Improving the learning conditions in the sector (including improving the infrastructure)

■ Curriculum development for the sector ■ Initial Teacher-training and Continuous Professional Development ■ Educational leadership training for the “school” Managers ■ The promotion of innovative initiatives (including existing ones) ■ The democratization of Knowledge (through the development of

AJAMI)

No significance was ascribed to the order in which the recommendations appear in the above list.

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Acronyms

ADEA: Association for the Development of Education in Africa BID: Banque Islamique de Développement CFA: Communauté du Franc Africain CONFEMEN: Conférence des Ministres de l’Éducation Nationale DfID : Department for International Development DoSE: Department of State for Education EFA: Education For All ERNWACA: Educational Research Network for West and Central Africa ED/BAS/LIT: Education/Basic Literacy GR: Gender Ratio ISESCO: Islamic Education, Science and Culture Organization NFE: Non-Formal Education NGO: Non-Governmental Organization QSC: Quranic Schooling Centre ROCARE: Réseau Ouest et Centre Africain de Recherche en Education SCQ: Self-Completion Questionnaire UEMOA: Union Économique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine

Acknowledgements

This report is the result of the combined efforts of ERNWACA’s National Co-ordinators for Gambia, Mali, Niger and Sénégal, respectively and their research teams. The study would not have been concluded without the active collaboration and support of a number of organisations and individuals. In particular, my thanks go to the Directors and staff of the Basic Education Directorates of these countries, to ERNWACA’s Regional Co-ordinator, and to UNESCO’s officers, for their support in the project, particularly for the pre-financing arrangements (without which some activities would not have started on time) and for the cross-national workshops. My thanks also go to the respective Arabic/Islamic Education Authorities in the four participating countries for their support.

I must also thank ERNWACA (Gambia)’s Scientific Adviser, Dr Yves Benett, for his guidance on all aspects of project implementation, including his development of the Analytical Framework, his translation of the literature review, his contribution to the Synthesis of the Country Reports and his role as External Verifier. Thanks too to his professional and technical team that made it possible to produce this Report. My thanks go also to Dr Laouali Malam Moussa for his Synthesis of the literature review, and for the translation and Synthesis of the Country Reports. I am very grateful too to all the contributors to the Country Reports which have been submitted to UNESCO separately.

Thanks too to the managers of the Madrassas and other Quranic Schooling Centres who participated in the study, all of whom welcomed the researchers with unfailing courtesy.

Makaireh A N’Jie Project Co-ordinator

October 2007

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CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION

1.1 The Background

In recent years there has been a growing interest in Islamic schools, particularly in the category of

schools known as Madrassas (Ahmad, 2002), and the Educational Research Network for West and

Central Africa (ERNWACA), in partnership with UNESCO, has now completed a study on

samples of Madrassas and other Quranic Schooling Centres (QSCs), in Gambia, Mali, Niger and

Senegal, respectively. In accordance with the objectives of Basic Education (as stated in the

document 33C/5, under ED/BAS/LIT), UNESCO was interested in finding out how it could

support the development of an innovative curriculum within the context of Madrassas and other

Quranic Schooling Centres in Non Formal Education (NFE) settings through (a) additional Basic

Education and (b) Vocational skills training.

1.1.1 The Education For All (EFA) imperative For centuries Madrassas have been a major instrument (in Muslim societies) for promoting the

acquisition of a scholarly knowledge of Islam (Ca Da Mosto, 1895); and they have long been

the guardians of Muslim orthodoxy. As a key element of the social fabric they have also played

a major role in shaping the moral and spiritual development of students in these societies. The

students generally come from poor families who cannot send their children to the so-called

“modern” schools because their parents/guardians must pay the school fees, even for basic

schooling, and in Sub-Saharan Africa such charges can take up to a quarter of a family’s income

(Brown, 2006). Indeed, “every day, 100 million primary school-aged children are not in school.

Eight out of ten of these live in sub-Saharan Africa or Asia, and they are more likely to be girls

than boys” (DfID, 2006). Yet, Education is “the single most powerful tool in the fight against

global poverty”, and the Dakar Framework for Action in the year 2000 had reaffirmed the

vision of the World Declaration on Education For All (EFA) which was adopted in Jomtien in

1990 and had emphasized “the central role of education as an engine for reducing poverty”

(Tomasi, 2002) — the point being that Education increases productivity and revenues by

improving employment opportunities, and that free access to Basic Education for the poorest

populations is an effective way of reducing inequalities. In practice, many countries in Sub-

Saharan Africa have concentrated their efforts on achieving Universal Primary Education at the

expense of adult education and literacy (ADEA, 2006a). Nevertheless, the commitment of the

international community is still to meet the educational needs of children, youth and adults and

to frame a conducive political context for attaining the EFA goals and the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs) — even if the literacy rates in some countries in Sub-Saharan

Africa are still as low as 40%, if disparities in literacy rates between rural and urban areas as


well as by gender are much in evidence (ADEA, 2006b; Niane, 2002), and if only a few of the

countries have “high chances” of attaining the Dakar goals (Daniel, 2003).

It is not for lack of specific appropriate initiatives on the part of the international community

and of the individual countries that there is apparently an inability to reach these goals in the

near future. Thus some of the initiatives are: (a) the NEPAD’s initiative for African countries “

to bridge the education gap” by working with development agencies and multilateral institutions

in order to ensure that the goal of achieving universal primary education by 2015 is realised

(Borishade, 2002) (b) the World Bank’s Fast Track Initiative that offers donor financing for

countries that give priority to primary education for all children, and (c) the initiative of

recruiting a “new type of teacher” known as “Contract teachers” (Duret and Bernard, 2004).

It is also generally acknowledged that the achievement of the Dakar goals in Sub-Saharan

Africa depends in part not only on the availability of financial resources but also on the ability

of the countries to expand their secondary school systems (Lewin, 2004) and on an overhaul of

their curriculum objectives and contents (Obanya, 2004; Bregman, 2004). What is advocated is

a broad-based curriculum reform which would feature a proper emphasis on life-related skills,

basic competencies and general pre-vocational skills in the lower secondary years whilst the

upper secondary years are devoted to reinforcing these skills, and at the same time to laying the

foundations for academic studies for those who are academically inclined, and to offering a non-

academic alternative curriculum to those who are not so inclined (thus preparing them for the

transition to the world of work).

1.1.2 The NON-FORMAL EDUCATION imperative

Another consideration of direct relevance to the present study is encapsulated in the succinct

and penetrating statement that EFA “will not be achieved without Non-Formal Education”

(Osman, 2005). It is a statement that throws into relief the contribution that the Islamic

schooling centres can make to Education as they are institutions within the Non-Formal sector

of Education. As a matter of fact, “in most African countries Non-Formal Education has been

“a response to the inability of public institutions to fulfil the demand for Education” (Boly,

2005) and the distinctive response of the Islamic schools system has traditionally been to offer a

conventional Islamic school curriculum, that is, one which combines a study of the Koran with

studies in various fields of secular knowledge. However, ideas for the reform of the Islamic

schools have not been hard to emerge and have resulted in new and different models of Islamic

schooling. One of the salient differences has been in the emphasis put on learning the official

language of the country and on the use of the mother tongue (or of the dominant local language)

as the medium of instruction.


A strategy advanced for engaging the NFE sector and hence the Islamic schools with regard to

achieving EFA, is to mainstream Non-Formal Education (NFE) into the formal national systems

of Education, as opposed to creating NFE as a parallel system of Education nationwide (Osman,

2004). In other words, the requirement to attain the education-related Dakar goals and

Millennium Development Goals by the year 2015, coupled with the favoured shift to a Sector-

Wide, holistic approach to policy-making in the Education sector (Gustaffson, 2002), would

suggest that an appropriate policy for the national system of Education is to bring together the

respective contributions that various educational organisations can make to National

Development in the Less Developed Countries, including the contribution of the Islamic

schools.

For many Muslim families then, the NFE sector (through the Islamic schools) offers the only

educational opportunity for their children. Whilst the State provides the bulk of the Educational

Services through the public delivery system, the Islamic system of education is also available to

Muslim families, and the considerable importance of this system lies in the fact that it reaches

out to marginalized populations.

1.2 The Research Problem

But whilst the contribution to Education which the Islamic schools make is acknowledged, the

“problem” is that there is scant information in the public domain about the quality of the

education and training which they provide and, in particular, about the training in life skills and

livelihood skills which they offer to children of school-going age, to out-of-school youth, and to

adults working in the “informal sector” of industry and commerce, specially women.. Yet such

education and training is important because the informal sector of industry and commerce is

where most of the urban poor and the poor in rural areas who are not farmers work and where

investments in skills development can play an important role in poverty reduction (albeit along

with other complementary inputs, such as access to secure workplaces, to credit, and to

technology).

1.2.1 The Research Question The research question that flowed from this statement of the “problem” was therefore this:- in

what ways do the Islamic schooling centres (through the NFE sector and through an alternative

system of education to the formal Basic Education provided by the National Education System)

facilitate access to education and training, in particular to literacy and to livelihood skills, and

how effective this provision is, both in terms of attaining the goal of Education For All (

including vulnerable groups, such as out-of-school youths, women and girls) and in terms of

meeting National Development needs.?


1.3 The Research Aim In broad terms then, the research aim was to describe and analyse how Madrassas and other QSCs

facilitate access to education (in particular, to literacy and livelihood skills), in order for

UNESCO to promote the good practices observed in such educational institutions.

The specific objective of the research was to describe aspects of this alternative education system

(that operates in each of the targeted countries) by undertaking a cross-sectional Baseline Survey

of how, in each country, a sample of Islamic schools is organised and what they provide in terms

of Basic Education skills, life skills and livelihood skills — and in so doing to highlight how these

schools have been working for the social inclusion of traditionally excluded people (that is, out-

of-school youths, women and girls). The underlying idea was that an understanding of how the

conception of Basic Education in this alternative education system was being played out in

practice (in the Islamic schooling centres) could ultimately lead to the promotion of good practice

in the participating countries.

1.4 Project implementation In order to implement this transnational study in the four countries, ERNWACA set up a

supervisory body to support the liaison activities of its Regional Coordination system based in

Bamako and the recruitment of researchers in each country (through its National Coordinations

system). The Gambian Chapter of ERNWACA was assigned the task of supervising the whole

process and requested the technical assistance of Dr Yves Benett, a UK-based International

Education Consultant and its Scientific Adviser, while the Niger Chapter coordinated the study in

the three francophone countries. This Project Co-ordination team then designed the framework

for the study, the data collection instruments and the procedures for the data analysis.

Three Project coordination workshops were organized in November 2006, May 2007 and August

2007, respectively. The first one was held in Dakar. It examined the data collection tools — the

questionnaire and the interview guides — and discussed the research process for the study —

sampling, sample size, timetable and the distribution of roles for the project team. The second

workshop was held in Banjul, after the researchers had submitted their own countries’ literature

review reports and the Project coordination team had synthesized these. The meeting appraised

the treatment of the questionnaire data, and decided on the variables to consider for cross

tabulations and data analysis. The third workshop took place in Niamey. It discussed the content

of the country reports, the structure of the final research report, the report’s recommendations and

the criteria for the selection of topics for a set of concept papers.

Self-Completion Questionnaires were completed by the respective “Managers” of 105 Madrassas

and 79 other Quranic Schooling Centres across the four countries. The respondents were asked


questions related to the educational policy, the student enrolments, the curriculum, the funding,

the effectiveness, and the efficiency of their schools. Individual interviews were conducted with

144 officials — managers, teachers and supervisors — in the participating institutions, the Islamic

Education Authorities and Government. Two Case Studies, per country, were undertaken: they

were the case of one Madrassa and the case of one other Quranic Schooling Centre. Six

recommendations were made and a set of concept papers, derived from them, were proposed as a

basis for future interventions in the Islamic Education system.

■ Definitions of terms For convenience sake, (a) the term “school” is used in this study for both:

(i) Madrassas, — a Madrassa is a formal school which includes Islamic education in its curriculum (that is, the study of the Koran and Islamic studies) and which uses Arabic and the official language of the country as media of instruction, and

(ii) the other Quranic Schooling Centres — that is, the vast array of religious education structures referred to as such (see the literature review in Chapter III for more details).

(b) the term “Manager” in this study refers to the “schools” Headteachers/ Principals/ Directors/ Managers as such

■ Structure of the report

The report is structured as follows:

Chapter I Introduction

Chapter II Methodology

Chapter III Synthesis of the Literature Review

Chapter IV Results of the Baseline Survey

Chapter V Discussion

Chapter VI Conclusion and Recommendations


CHAPTER II:

THE METHODOLOGY

Introduction

The research design for this project derived from our conceptualisation of the entire group of

Madrassas and other Quranic Schooling Centres (QSCs) in any one country as together constituting a

sector of the Islamic Education System of that country, namely, the sector for Basic Education and

Non-Formal Education. The design was informed by the review of the relevant literature and was

guided by the Research Aim and the Research Question.

The design was guided too by the idea that, in the process of organising themselves, Human/Social

systems undergo a process of evolution rather than one of just adapting to the external environment

and securing their survival (Banathy, 2006), so that the historical perspective on the Islamic Education

system in the literature review was necessary.

Another factor at work when designing the research was that the main “tool” in researching such a

system was the researchers’ reflections on the system’s procedures and practices, its relationships with

the community that it serves, its underlying values, its commitment to its purposes (and development

plans), and the constraints within the political- administrative framework which moulds its legitimacy.

In view of the foregoing and given UNESCO’s Terms Of Reference for this project, and

CONFEMEN’s (2006) vision for school management in francophone countries, the research plan was

to look closely at the performance of this sector of the Islamic Education System, that is, its inputs,

processes, and output. (Greaney and Kellaghan, 1996) But given the short duration of the project and

the fact that Education systems are complex “knowledge organisations” (Reimers, 1997), the research

focused on only two components of the management of the sector:

• The Governance and Administration component

• The Curriculum Development and Implementation component.

2.1 Methods and procedures The research was in three stages and, in broad terms, these stages were as follows:

STAGE 1: A one-month Desk Study of relevant documents in each of the four targeted countries

STAGE 2: A three-months, multi-site study, in each country, in two Phases:

(i) Phase 1: A Baseline Survey of a sample of Madrassas and other QSCs,

(ii) Phase 2: Two Case Studies of educational institutions in the sector

STAGE 3 A Cross-National Synthesis of the findings at STAGES 1 and 2


Thus, the review of the relevant literature (in Chapter III) was reported ahead of the empirical

stage for the research (at STAGE 2) but was continuously updated.

2.1.1 The Data Collection procedures for the Baseline Survey and the Case Studies

For the Baseline Survey and the Case Studies, data were collected in each country by means of:

(a) a structured Self-Completion Questionnaire (common for all the countries) that was filled

in by a sample of “Managers” of Madrassas and other Quranic Schooling Centres (QSCs).

(The questionnaire was compiled originally in English and contained mostly fixed-choice

answers). For convenience sake the word “school” was used to refer to all the different

types of Islamic educational institutions in the targeted sector.

(b) formal, semi-structured, on-site, individual interviews of a sample of “school” staff

(including “Managers”) and other stakeholders locally, at each selected “school". An

Interview Guide common for all the countries was used.

(c) a Focus Group interview as appropriate at each “school”.

This combination of methods known as “triangulation” was necessary for exploring the

different aspects of the process of education in the sampled “schools”. In each country, the data

obtained by these various methods were brought together meaningfully through the data

analyses and through the Case Studies. However, regrettably no classrooms observations were

made as there had been no time for developing an appropriate grid and administering it. It is

acknowledged that such observational data would have contributed to an understanding of

programme delivery in the selected “schools”.

2.1.2 The Procedures for collecting the Self-Completion Questionnaire data

2.1.2.1 The Preliminary steps

(a) Bearing in mind the limited resources available for this project, and the geographical

distribution of Madrassas and other Quranic Schooling Centres (QSCs), the project

team in Gambia, Niger and Senegal, respectively selected the following for the

Baseline Survey, in consultation with the Ministry/ Department of State for Education

(DoSE):

(i) ONE Rural area (at least)

(ii) ONE Urban or Suburban area (at least)

Mali targeted a urban/suburban community with a relatively large number of

Madrassas and QSCs

(b) the research team in each targeted geographical area involved the appropriate

Local/Regional Government Authority in the planning and implementation of the

Baseline Survey. The selection of “schools” within each identified socio-economic

area proceeded by further categorising each institution by its Designation (as a


Madrassa or as another QSC), or still, as a Madreassa cum another QSC, and its Type

(as a Private/ Community/ Government school) (see Chapter IV, Table 4.1) .

2.1.2.2 The achieved sample of “schools” for the Baseline survey

(a) In each country the research team aim had been to obtain a sufficiently large sample of

Madrassas and other Quranic Schooling Centres, using the stratified, random, sampling

method, and bearing in mind the different socio-economic areas where the “schools”

were located and the limited resources available for the project. Table 2.1 shows the

distribution of “schools” by Country and School Designation. The classification of the

“schools” by other school characteristics is shown in Table 4.2 in Chapter IV .

(b) The research team made all the necessary arrangements for the blank Self-Completion

Questionnaire to be delivered by trained enumerators to the sample of school

“Managers” and for all the questionnaires to be completed and returned to them (the

research team). However, in each country the recorded data showed missing values for

certain variables, and when that was so, the respondent cases were excluded from the

analysis.

Table 2.1: The number of surveyed “schools” by

Country and School Designation

Country “Schools” School Designation Gambia Mali Niger Sénégal Total

Madrassa (M) 50 12 15 28 105 QSC (Q) 23 9 34 13 79 Country Totals 73 21 49 41 184

2.1.2.3 The Contents of the Self-Completion Questionnaire

The Self-Completion Questionnaire is appended (see Appendix 1). Its contents covered a

wide range of relevant educational issues including: access to education and training, students’

performance, school leavers’ destinations, the “school” curriculum, the costs of education,

staff development and “school”— community relationships.

2.1.3 The Procedures for conducting the Interviews at each “school”

The aim of the interviews was to seek Stakeholders’ views and feelings about the

official policies and practices in connection with ;-

(a) the administration of the Islamic education provided by the “schools”

(b) the various elements of the curriculum.


For each “school” the interviewees were the “school” “Manager”, the Regional Education

Officer responsible for the “school” (as representative of the Ministry of Education/Department

of State for Education) and representatives of the “school” teachers.

For each category of stakeholders an Interview Guide was developed. It was acknowledged

that although some of the views expressed by the interviewees were likely to be internalizations

of externally imposed social norms, they would nonetheless reflect how the respondents defined

the situations they were in.

The Focus Group Interview was meant to complement these individual interviews — as such an

interview allowed for group interaction (with participants questioning each other and many

holding challenging views).

2.1.3.1 The sub-sample of “schools” for the interviews When selecting the schools for the interviews due consideration was given to UNESCO’s

Terms of Reference for this project. Hence, the research approach was to ensure the

representation of schools that:

(a) incorporated livelihood skills / vocational training programmes of study in the curriculum,

(b) were in different socio-economic areas (Rural/Urban)

(c) had different gender compositions (Male/Female)

2.1.3.2 The contents of the Interview Guides for the Individual Interviews and for the Focus Group Interviews

The interviews addressed a number of key issues including those about the following, at each

sampled “school” (see Appendix 2):

(a) the school’s Policies and Strategies (for example, the “schools”’ policies and strategies

for the education of girls and women and for staff development)

(b) Access to education and training (for example, the “schools”’ attempts to facilitate

access to basic education and to address community needs (for Education in Non-

Formal settings).

(c) the Curriculum (for example, Vocational training for meeting local needs, Skills

Development, and the relevance of the curriculum).

Although these interviews coupled with the Self-Completion Questionnaire had considerable

value, the researchers sought to provide, in addition, a qualitative description of the culture of the

“schools”. However, the question of obtaining a representative sample (in the statistical sense) of

“school” events, behaviours, interactions, procedures, and layouts did not arise in such a

constrained piece of research. The researchers could only attempt to sample a few school events

and behaviours, as they moved about in the schools and in the local communities.


2.1 4 Some implications of the methodology 2.1.4.1 The Implications for the Work Plan An implication for the Work Plan was that, as indicated in Section 2.1.3.2 above, at each

setting, apart from conducting the interviews, as far as possible, the researchers attempted to

converse with other local people (such as Community Workers). Consequently, the scope for

data collection required the researchers to work for long hours at each setting.

2.1.4.2 The Implications for the development of the Research Instruments cross-nationally and for the Synthesis of the research findings

In order to facilitate the cross-country Synthesis of the research findings, the following

research instruments were developed for all the four participating countries to use, albeit with

some latitude for accommodating the preferences of each country:

(a) a common set of items for the Self-Completion Questionnaire (SCQ),

(b) a common set of questions for the Interview Guide for the individual interviews of the

“schools”’ “Managers”

The assumption was that the set of educational concepts embedded in the research instruments

(and uncovered partly from the review of the relevant literature) was shared by the four

countries, in spite of geographical and linguistic differences between the countries __ and that

the respondents in the Baseline Survey had a broadly similar understanding of these concepts.

It was also assumed that this set of educational concepts would serve the purposes of the

subsequent cross-country analyses (see Section 2.2.4). As a consequence, the respective,

original English versions of the instruments were translated into French for use in the three

francophone countries.

2.1.4.3 The Implications for the validity and reliability of the findings

A challenge that was inherent in the use of these so-called research “instruments” was to

ensure that they yielded valid and reliable information. An important concern was that the

method of “triangulation”, on its own, was not sufficient for establishing validity (Mason,

2005). The research strategy was therefore to ensure that in each country, in addition to

achieving a random sample of schools, the requirements for “ecological validity” and “content

validity” were met. For this reason, the research instruments were grounded initially in the

“realities” of the local Madrassas and other Quranic Schooling Centres in The Gambia,

through:

(a) discussions with key informants (such as officers of the Madrassa Unit and of the

Directorate for the Curriculum in the Ministry/Department of State for Education, and

the Head of the General Secretariat for Islamic/Arabic Education in The Gambia),

(b) the involvement of the key informants in the development of the instruments.


(c) visits to a Madrassa and to a Koranic Memorisation Centre,

(d) the piloting of the instruments locally,

All these activities, together with the review of the relevant literature locally, ensured that the

pertinent issues were covered and for each issue an adequate sample of items was obtained

from the domain of content.

Yet another approach to the vexing issue of validity was that prior to the administration of the

instruments a validation workshop was held in Dakar for the four participating research teams

to scrutinise the instruments and agree their contents. The teams confirmed the content

validity of the instruments and, importantly, ascertained the similarity across the participating

countries in the meanings of the incorporated educational concepts. Subsequently, as part of

the research process, two more validation workshops (one in Banjul and the other in Niamey)

were held in order for the four research teams to consider jointly the data collected and the

way that they were to be analysed.

Turning to the reliability of the research instruments, the research teams ensured that, the

enumerators who were recruited for the project spoke the local dialects and were trained by

them to administer the research instruments. The aim was partly to minimise any difficulties

that the questions that were included in the instruments might pose to the respondents, such as

difficulties with the wording of the questions (in the Self-Completion Questionnaire),

difficulties with the respondents’ vocabularies, and difficulties with understanding the

underlying educational concepts — even though the questions were well focused and were

conceptually clear.

For reliability purposes too, in Senegal and in The Gambia, the process and verification of

data entry by computer were entrusted to specialist computer agencies in order to ensure that

the entered data were as error-free as possible. Nevertheless, it was not possible, in the

circumstances, to ensure that, in the field, the procedures for administering the research

instruments were uniform across the four countries and that the translations into the different

local dialects were always adequate.

2.2 The methods and procedures for the Data Analyses The methods of Data Analysis included the follows:

• DISCOURSE ANALYSIS in each country. This analysis sought to deconstruct the discourse about Education Policy for the sector (that is, for Madrassas and other Quranic Schooling Centres).

• CURRICULUM ANALYSIS in each country which:

(a) looked at the “school” curriculum as it is implemented in practice


(b) included a STATISTICAL ANALYSIS of the Baseline Survey data

• a CASE STUDY ANALYSIS in each country of how the process of education worked in the particular contexts of two “schools”

• a CROSS-NATIONAL ANALYSIS of the educational provision for that sector across the four selected countries

Figure 2.1 is a diagrammatic representation of what the data analyses for the two targeted

components of the system entailed and indicates the planned sequence for the in-country and

cross-national analyses.

Figure 2.1

The framework for the analysis of the collected data about the Madrassas and other Quranic Schooling Centres

The sources of data for these various analyses were the Desk Study, the Baseline Survey and the

Case Studies

2.2.1 The Discourse Analysis This analysis drew on the theory that a discourse is “a grid of knowledge” through which

explicit and implicit meanings are shared (Mama, 1995; Fairclough, 1992). The analysis was

therefore concerned with understanding the accounts of the “reality” about the Islamic

Education system, at the level of Madrassas and QSCs in each country. Given the limited

resources for this research, only a simplified version of the method as applied to organisational

settings (Dick and Cassell, 2002; Jupp and Norris, 1993) was possible. Statements of

Educational Policy culled from the relevant documents were examined and the organisational

culture (including the sector’s commitment to its vision of education), was described. Also, an

The Discourse Analysis

The C

ross -National A

nalysis

The Components of the System

The Governance

and Administration

Component

(a) Analysis of the Education Policy for the “schools”

(b) Analysis of the organisational culture

The Curriculum Development

and Implementation

Component

The Curriculum

Analysis

Analysis of the data about: e.g.(a) the development, pattern,

content, management, and reform of the curriculum

(b) access to “schools” (c) the assessment of

learners’ achievements (d) other curriculum-related

issues (e.g. equity with regard to gender)

The Case Study A

nalysis

The data analyses in each country


attempt was made to discern the perspective on education that was being promoted in these

institutions and to understand:

(a) the frame of values within which the Islamic Education System at this level operates in the selected geographical areas

(b) what is seen as problematic, and what is not seen as problematic, and what explanations are offered, or rejected, or omitted

(c) the adaptation of the system to its operational environment

2.2.2 The Curriculum Analysis The term “curriculum” is admittedly an “ill-defined area of intellectual enquiry” (Hamilton,

1976), and there are different definitions of the term (Lubisis et al, 1998). Nevertheless, in the

present study, the curriculum was taken to comprise “all of the arrangements governing

students’ education” (ADEA, 2004). However, a few key curriculum elements and curriculum-

related issues were identified for analysis. Among the curriculum elements were:

• the Curriculum Determinants (such as the “schools”’ Values)

• the Curriculum Development Process(such as the community’s involvement in the process)

• the Curriculum Pattern (such as, the weekly time allocations for different subject areas and the structure of the programmes of study).

• the Curriculum Content (such as the Skills content for life skills and vocational skills)

• Curriculum Management (such as the use of the Management Information System and the Monitoring and Evaluation procedures)

• Curriculum Reform /Innovation (such as its effects on the organisation of the “school”).

The Curriculum-related issues were:

Access and Retention (such as the factors that affect enrolment and retention )

Learners’ assessments (such as their examination results)

Equity (with regard to gender and ethnicity)

Staff Development

The integration of the Madrassa system with the formal State system for Basic Education

In each country the curriculum at the sampled “schools” was examined against:

(a) some key concepts that underpin curriculum design (such as those of curriculum

relevance, learner-centredness, experiential learning, functional skills, core curriculum,

and stakeholders’ participation in curriculum reform)

(b) the policy objectives and priorities for:

(i) the National Curriculum for the Basic Education sector

(ii) education in the Non-Formal sector of the National Education System


2.2.3 The Statistical Analysis of the Baseline Survey data To begin with, the statistical analysis of the SCQ data consisted in obtaining for each country

the following descriptive statistics:

(a) the Frequency Counts of the responses for:

(i) all the categorical variables (such as, School Designation and Type of school)

(ii) all the grouped variables (such as Age and School Size)

(b) the Means (Average) and Standard Deviations for all the continuous variables (such as,

School fees and the Number of teaching hours allocated, per week, per subject area.)

The analysis of the SCQ data went on to establish whether there were statistically significant

associations between the so-called “independent” variables, such as the location of schools (as

Rural or Urban) and the “dependent” variables (such as the provision in the Secondary School

curriculum of a “Vocational Training” option.

The proposition underlying this extended statistical analysis was that the potential of the

surveyed institutions hinged on the programmes of study that they offered and that these

programmes in turn, were contingent on the characteristics of the “schools”, such as their

Location (Rural/Urban) and Type (Private/ Community/ Government). The argument was that

African educators, working jointly with the World Bank (ADEA, 1995) had identified the

factors that characterise effective State schools within National Education Systems and that

CONFEMEN (2006) had recently outlined strategies for improving the management of National

school systems in francophone countries. It was therefore deemed important to find out which

“school” characteristics were significantly associated with the effective management of

“schools” in this parallel Education System (across the four participating countries).

2.2.4 The Case Study Analysis

In each country the researchers aimed to produce two contrasting Case Studies (that of a

Madrassa and that of a Non-Madrassa type of Quranic Schooling Centre). Each “case” was

intended to give a holistic picture of how the “schools’ ” institutional policies, processes and

practices promoted Basic Education and Education in the Non-Formal sector, and were

influenced historically and currently by contextual factors. In each country the choice of the

two “cases” was dictated by the developments that might take place locally, in the near future,

in two very diverse institutions.

2.2.5. The Cross – National Analysis Whilst the Case Studies contained descriptions of Madrassas and QSCs in each country, the

cross-national analysis required the researchers to look outward, beyond their own countries to


see how the sector is operated in the other sampled countries. As already indicated, the

researchers had embarked on this research with a clear sense of what UNESCO regarded as a

problematic situation in West Africa and consequently, the cross-national analysis concentrated

on the more salient issues in connection with the pressing problems outlined in Section 1 above.

However, the researchers did not set out to undertake a comprehensive comparative study aimed

at researching Islamic Education in four countries as a total process (Theisen and Adams, 1990).

Instead, they simply looked at how this particular sector operates in the four countries, and

highlighted the more glaring similarities and differences between the four countries at the level

of single variables and also at the level of relationships (between dependent and independent

variables) (Schriewer, 1989). Importantly too, they went on to try and gauge the usefulness of

the research findings for supporting UNESCO’s intended intervention in the sector and moved

to recommendations that were closely linked to the research findings.

CHAPTER III:

SYNTHESIS OF THE LITERATURE REVIEW

It emerged from the review that Islamic education has existed in these four countries at least since the

twelfth century and that such education is well established in spite of the various difficulties created by

governments during the colonial era and subsequently. Indeed, in the last twenty years or so, the

vitality of Quranic teaching has known something of a revival under the leadership of national and

international religious associations and Islamic multilateral organisations and institutions.

The literature review indicates also that the flexibility of this Non-Formal framework for Basic

Education is convenient for the destitute and for the less affluent, forced to combine education with

the search for basic means of survival. In the four countries, hundreds of thousands of young people

and adults acquire literacy as well as life skills through Quranic schools — for example, in Niger the

population of such learners is estimated to be about 340,000 — including a significant number of

youth attending formal schools simultaneously. The literature review revealed also that the above

mentioned revival has generated innovative Quranic Schooling Centres which offer modern

alternatives to the traditional Quranic Schools while competing with the formal bilingual offers

developed by governments. These new Quranic Schooling Centres have developed curricular reforms

which consist of incorporating secular subjects matters into the learning agenda.

Despite the important role it plays in the lives of Muslims, in general, and in Sub-Saharan Africa in

particular, Islamic Education is insufficiently researched at present. Educational Statistics ignore it

and its educative potential is underrated. Such an attitude is suicidal in African countries south of the

Sahara that cannot meet the social demand for education within the formal system, in spite of the

human and financial resources devoted to such education. The education-related Millennium


Development Goals require a different policy in order to realize universal education by the year 2015,

and such a policy should bring together the respective contributions of educational organisations

particularly the contribution of Islamic schools.

3.1. Historical Overview Of Islamic Education: Madrasas And Other Quranic Schooling Centres Seeking knowledge is an integral part of the Islamic cultural tradition. Indeed, the Holy Koran

reports that the first interaction between Prophet Muhammad (May Peace & Blessing of Allah be

upon him) and the Angel Gabriel was an invitation to read. Numerous other testimonies underline

the importance of searching for the revealed knowledge and the secular knowledge.

After the death of the Holy Prophet (SAW), the Muslim scholars sought guidance for their daily

lives in the sayings and way of life of the prophet and thus came about the development of the

knowledge of “Sunna” (the deeds of the prophet) and of “Hadith” (the sayings of the prophet).

The mosque continued to be the centre of learning and the knowledge acquired through mosque-

based education was used to govern the lives of people in the Arabian Peninsula who were

speaking the same language. However, as Islam spread to other regions that had different

cultures, traditions and languages, it became necessary for the Muslim experts to write textbooks

in different languages on different aspects of Islamic education including “Fiq” (Islamic

jurisprudence), “Sunna”, “Hadith” and “Tafseer” (the interpretation of the Holy Koran), in order

to cater for the needs of the non-Arab Muslims. This development marked the beginning of the

Madrassa as the centre of higher learning and the objective was to preserve religious conformity

through the uniform teaching of Islam for all (Uzama, 2003).

Historians maintain that Islam had been introduced in Africa as early as the year 26 of the

“hegira” when Caliph Uthman ordered Abdallah Ibn Saad to go on an expedition to Egypt in

order to spread Islam. Hiskett (1984) throws further light on the early history of Islamic education

in Africa, with the suggestion that there are significant historical facts that show the presence of

Islam in the Kanem-Borno Empire since the seventh century. Such conversion requires a basic

knowledge of the Koranic text not only for prayer, but also, for learning the religious precepts of

Islam, and the ways and means of imparting such knowledge. From Egypt, merchants and

Muslim scholars introduced Islam in the states neighbouring the Sahara via home teaching and

mosques before the establishment of Koran Schools. The latter were meant for the oral learning

and memorisation of verses from the Koran.

Further developments occurred through pilgrimage and sending students to Fès (in the case of the

Mali Empire) and to Cairo (for the Kanem-Borno). These exchanges brought about a qualitative

change in African Islam making it a religion of the written word rather than an oral phenomenon

and one that shifted, as Malam Moussa (1997) observes, from being the thing of the political and


economic elite to becoming that of the people following the tenth century immigration of Muslim

nomads, of the Kharijite denomination, who were running away from the Fatimides after the

defeat of Abu Yasid. The recent development of Koran schools took place at the end of the

eighteenth century under the reform initiatives of Cheick Ousmane DAN FODIO (the founder of

a theocratic kingdom in the HAUSA states and the Adamawa region of Cameroon), and EL

KANEMI (who instituted a system of government based on Islamic precepts in the BORNO

empire). In the Sudan (Mali), one could name great historical figures, such as El Hadji Oumar

TALL, Sékou AMADOU, Cheick Mohamed Lamine DRAME, Cheick Ahmad Hamadou

LAHOU and Samory TOURE.

To conclude this historical perspective mention must be made of the testimonies of Europeans and

Arab travellers who reported the presence of Islamic schools in Africa, south of the Sahara.

Among them were Ca Da Mosto (in 1455), d’Almeida (in 1578), Mungo-Park (in 1799), and Ibn

Battuta (1961) who described in detail how the populations of West Africa lived, notably those of

Mali.

3.2. The Islamic School System

The Islamic education is organised around the study of the Koran but schools differ in their aims,

organisations and programmes, both across the four countries and within each one. For cross-

national comparison purposes, three main categories of centres may be distinguished. These are as

follows:

(a) The TRADITIONAL ISLAMIC SCHOOLS (Also known as

Quranic Schools) of which there are three sub-categories: • The Daaras (in Wolof), Karanta (in Mandinga),

Makaranta (in Hausa), Dudal (in Fulfulde) • The Maglises • The Quranic Memorisation Centres

(b) The NEW ISLAMIC SCHOOLS, of which there are two sub-categories:

• the Modernised Quranic Schools • the Reformed Quranic Schools

(c) The MADRASSAS which include formal, state run, Bilingual Schools and private modern Quranic Schools teaching Arabic, the official language and the community’s lingua franca.

Quranic schools are well established in West Africa and appropriated by the population as its

school, the “true” school (MAKARANTA, in Hausa); in opposition to the Western school

nicknamed MAKARANTAR BOKO or the false school. The principal characteristic of these

traditional Islamic schools is that they don’t require investment in any specific location or


furniture. The daily time-table for the resident students at a Traditional Koran school makes for

interesting reading. For example, in Niger, there are, in general, four teaching-learning sessions

from Saturday to Wednesday. They are as follows:

• An early morning session, after the prayer at dawn, and up to the time when the sun rises

• A session from nine o’clock to noon

• A session from 2:30 pm to 5 pm

• A session at night, after the evening prayer, and until about midnight.

Mature students, are free to adjust their time-tables in accordance with the requirements of their

socio-professional occupations. Table 3.1 below shows the innovations introduced by the New

Islamic Schools as well as the differences of their programmes of study.

Table: 3.1

Some characteristics of programmes of study at the Traditional Islamic/Quranic Schools and at the New Islamic Schools

Programmes at the Traditional

Islamic/Quranic Schools Programmes at the New Islamic Schools

At the Quranic Schools (other

than the Madrassas)

At the Madrassas

At the Modernised

Islamic Schools

At the Reformed

Islamic Schools

At the Bilingual Islamic Schools

The Koran The Koran The Koran The Koran The Koran The Arabic

Language (as Medium of instruction)

The Arabic Language (as Medium of instruction)

The Arabic Language (as Medium of instruction) for the Islamic religious subjects

Islamic Law Islamic Law Islamic Law The Official Hadiths Hadiths Hadiths Language of the History History History country Geography Geography Geography (as Medium Arithmetic Arithmetic Arithmetic of instruction) for Grammar the State’s The Official

Language of the country

The Official Language of the country

The Official Language of the country

National Basic Education Programme

Occupational Training

Individual teaching Whole class/ Group teaching

Whole class/ Group teaching Group teaching

All the three targeted francophone countries in the study have known developments in Islamic

Education along the lines indicated above, from the year 2000 to date. For example, the Ministry

of National Education in Senegal has authorised the creation of 272 franco-arab schools between

2002 and 2006, with 66 of these at Primary School level. In Mali the teaching of the Arabic


language as a subject was instituted in the 1962 School Reform and is ensured for all levels, under

the aegis of the Ministry of Education; and in Niger a recent study has advocated an overhauling

of the Basic Education system that would take into account both secular and sacred knowledge,

whilst making room in the curriculum for training in practical skills that learners can use in order

to set up their own businesses (Malam Moussa and Galy, 2003).

The Gambia presents a case in point of how the curriculum for the Madrassas has undergone

considerable reform in recent years. As part of the process of implementing the Government’s

Revised Education Policy (1988-2003), a unified syllabus for both the schools in the formal sector

and the Madrassas was developed for Basic Education (that is, for Primary /Lower Basic Schools

and Junior /Upper Basic Secondary Schools). The development was undertaken by the General

Secretariat for Islamic Arabic Education in the country (which was established in 1996) and

focused on the following subjects: (i) Islamic Studies; (ii) Arabic Language; (iii) English

Language; (iv) Mathematics; (v) Science and Health, and (vi) Social and Environmental Studies.

3.3. The Assessment of learning

At the Traditional Islamic/Quranic Schools other than the Madrassas, each learner progresses in

his/her studies at his/her own rate, depending on his/her achievements and on the amount of time

that he/she can devote to the studies. Teachers’ assessments consist of controlling daily how

much of the taught passage (in the Koran) has been memorised, before proceeding further. The

children progress through the passages, sentence by sentence. To get to the level of HAFIZ, that

is, to the perfect mastery of the whole Koran, students sometimes have to revise the text many

times. Some students continue learning until they are able to transcribe the whole text from

memory. At this stage, a student who is thus specialised will seek to become a GWANI, that is,

an expert in transcribing the Koran and he/she can henceforth be a member of the jury for the

accreditation of new HAFIZ.

By contrast, Madrassas use the formal system of evaluation of students’ achievements which

consists of end-of-term and end-of-year assessments of learning, and of examinations at the

completion of Grade 6, Grade 9 and Grade 12. The results are used as criteria for students’

promotion to the higher Grades. All the schools sit the examination at the same time and the

selected teachers assemble in one place for the marking of the students’ scripts. Senior teachers

validate the marked scripts, after which the results are published.

3.4. The Teachers

Teachers in the Quranic Schools work on a full-time basis. In Niger, for example, Meunier

(1997) reported that 77 per cent of the teachers he surveyed were teaching full-time, as against 14

per cent who worked in Agriculture and 9 per cent who stated that they had other sources of


revenue. They are benevolent workers seeking their reward from Allah, though they accept

donations from parents while students help with home and farm work. The relevant Senegalese

literature throws some light on the diversity of the teachers’ general backgrounds. Some are

scholars; others are of average educational background, whilst others still are uneducated. There is

further diversity in the occupational backgrounds of the teaching workforce: some teachers are

businessmen or women whilst others are farmers who unhesitatingly send their pupils to work in

their fields as free labour.

3.5. Islamic education systems in other Muslim countries

In Egypt, Madrassas are run by the Al Azhar University System, which was established in the

eleventh Century. It provides the following:

Six years of primary school education.

Three years of preparatory secondary school education

Four years of secondary school education

University education.

Students can transfer from Islamic to mainstream schools. The Al Azhar University offers degrees

at Bachelor’s and Master’s level in Islamic Studies, Dentistry, Commerce and Medicine.

Graduates serve, generally, as Islamic readers, scholars, and spiritual leaders both within and

outside Egypt.

In Indonesia there are madrasas operating on day school basis as well as boarding ones. They

offer primary, lower secondary and upper secondary levels of education using the national

curriculum and make use of extended hours to provide basic Islamic education. Graduates from

the upper secondary level of accredited Madrasas qualify for entry to universities. The majority

are privately owned and less expensive than public schools making them the main educational

opportunities in rural areas.

Bangladesh has also two types of madrasas, namely the Quomi and the Aliya. The first one

resembles West African traditional Koran School in that they teach Islamic subjects including the

Koran and other Islamic ethics and are not controlled by the State educational system. These

Madrasas do not keep student enrolment records. They maintain a hard line attitude towards so-

called modern thinking. The poor quality of teaching in languages leaves children with

insufficient literacy in languages. The Aliya madrasas on the contrary teach both religious and

secular subjects and are recognised by government. They are the counterparts of the emerging

modern Islamic centres of West Africa.


Pakistan has three main types of religious/Islamic education institutions. These are:

The Qur’anic Schools aimed at enabling learners to read the Koran. They offer classes at

various times to suit the circumstances of both teachers and students. They mostly operate

in mosques or at the homes of teachers.

The Mosque Primary Schools initiated by the Government in the mid-1980s to address the

problem of inadequate resources for providing Primary schools in every village. Secular

subjects (such as Mathematics) are added to the programme of Quranic School. A serious

shortcoming to the is that local Imams were not prepared to teach the additional subjects

as they did not attend formal State schools.

The Madrasas prepare students for their religious duties. They teach the Koran, Islamic

law, Jurisprudence and the Prophet’s traditions. Very few teach secular subjects. Each

one of the five major religious sects of the country has its own Madrasas in which it

teaches its own religious beliefs.

The Islamization of Africa has, de facto, introduced Quranic schools in the four countries that are

participating in the present study and hence the development of literacy in the Arabic language.

Although enrolment in these schools was at first limited socially and numerically, it has increased

through the centuries, in spite of the adverse colonial and post-colonial governance of these

countries. Indeed, there is an argument that, as a framework for the socialisation of the young,

Quranic schools have in many cases served as a catalyst for resisting the political, economic and

cultural domination of the West. But putting aside this argument, and given that for two decades

now, it has become apparent that the Western type of Basic Education is no longer able to keep its

promises (about, for example, employment for school leavers), because of the collapse of the

economic fabric, there looms at present a renewed interest in Islamic education, in the different

forms that it takes nowadays. In point of fact, in the collective consciousness, such an education

articulates well both with the culture of the local community and with the development of

exchanges with the rest of the Muslim world.

Another consideration is that the importance of ensuring access to Basic Education for all children

of school-going age has been well stressed worldwide (including Africa) since the 1990 Jomtien

conference on Education For All. It is apparent from this literature review that the Islamic

schools in the four participating countries contribute significantly to improving access to Basic

Education, even if the quality of the education provided by their self-styled teachers is quite

insufficient.

The literature review points to the need to discern connections between the Islamic Schools

system and the Non-Formal sector of the economy. Indeed, the Baseline Survey in Chapter II

includes to some extent the Islamic schools that are piloting the integration of practical skills


training in the curriculum, with the aim of equipping young school leavers with the skills for

employment and inserting them into the informal sector.

In conclusion, it seems useful to note that the national governments included in this study are

beginning to give to Education its full meaning and to formulate their orientation in a way that

will ensure that Departments of State for Education cease to position themselves as ministries for

formal State schools only. With the State taking the Islamic schools into account to some extent,

there is now a new perspective on attaining the objective of Education For All, and there is an

opportunity to help train the Quranic teachers and develop curricula, as the World Bank has

intimated when referring to its work for the Islamic community in West Africa (Prouty, 2006).

CHAPTER IV:

THE RESULTS OF THE BASELINE SURVEY Introduction

This Chapter presents the results of the Baseline Survey in two parts as follows:

PART A: the findings of the quantitative research

PART B: the findings of the qualitative research

The chapter seeks to provide a composite picture of the Madrassas and of the other Quranic Schooling

Centres (QSCs) and to portray something of their perspectives on education.

4.1 PART A: The findings of the quantitative research

The structure of this first part mirrors to some extent that of the Self-Completion Questionnaire (SCQ)

for the “school” Managers (see Appendix 1); and the results presented below are the Managers’

responses to the questions. However, the stance taken in presenting these results is one of caution

because the response rate for the participating “schools” was sometimes low for some of the

questionnaire items, probably because of the sensitive nature of the study and of the conditions under

which the respondents were asked to take part in the study.

Throughout an effort was made to link the results from the questionnaire to the relevant findings from

the literature review (in Chapter III) and from the wider literature about schooling; and, it was deemed

important to highlight throughout the more glaring similarities and differences between the four

countries. However, as explained in Chapter II, there was no intention of undertaking a

comprehensive, cross-national comparative study of the sector.

The findings of the qualitative research in PART B are reported in section 4.2


4.1.1 School Type, and School location

Given the wide diversity of “schools” in the sector, the Managers themselves were asked to specify

the designation of their “schools” as Madrassas or Quranic Schooling Centres.

Table 4.1 shows that all the 41 sampled “schools” in Sénégal and the vast majority (95%; N=21) in

Mali were “Privately owned”. This was not so in the sampled “schools” from Gambia and Niger,

respectively. In these countries there were other “types” of “schools” in addition to the “Privately

owned” “schools”. In Gambia 52% (N=50) of the Madrassas were said to be “Community”

“schools”, as were a few (26%; N=23) of the other QSCs. On the other hand, in Niger, there were no

“Community” “schools” but instead there were ten Government Madrassas while the other QSCs

(N=23) were sponsored by various bodies such as UNICEF and ISESCO.

Table 4.1: The number of surveyed “schools” by Country, “School” Designation,

Socio-economic area, and Type of “school” (in the Year 2005/6)

Gambia Niger Type of

“School” Rural Area

Urban Area Sub-total Type of


Urban Area Sub-total

Privately owned 9 14 23 Privately owned 0 5 5 Community 15 11 26 Community 0 0 0 Government 0 0 0 Government 4 6 10 Other 0 0 0 Other 0 0 0 M

adra

ssas

Sub-total 24 26 50

Mad

rass

as

Sub-total 4 11 15 Privately owned 9 8 17 Privately owned 3 8 11 Community 2 4 6 Community 0 0 0 Government 0 0 0 Government 0 0 0 Other 0 0 0 Other 12 11 23

QSC

s

Sub-total 11 12 23

QSC

s

Sub-total 15 19 34 Grand Total 73 Grand Total 49

Mali Sénégal Type of


Urban Area Sub-total Type of


Urban Area Sub-total

Privately owned 4 7 11 Privately owned 5 23 28 Community 1 0 1 Community 0 0 0 Government 0 0 0 Government 0 0 0 Other 0 0 0 Other 0 0 0 M

adra

ssas

Sub-total 5 7 12

Mad

rass

as

Sub-total 5 23 28 Privately owned 4 4 8 Privately owned 1 12 13 Community 0 0 0 Community 0 0 0 Government 0 0 0 Government 0 0 0 Other 0 1 1 Other 0 0 0

QSC

s

Sub-total 4 5 9

QSC

s

Sub-total 1 12 13 Grand Total 21 Grand Total 41

[Note: QSCs means Quranic Schooling Centres, other than Madrassas. The “schools” that were of the Type categorised above as “Other” were sponsored by organisations such as the Islamic Solidarity Association for West Africa in Gambia, the Union of Muslim Women of Niger, and UNICEF ]


However, categorising a “school” as a Privately owned “school” or as a Community “school” when

filling in the Self-Completion Questionnaire was clearly a matter for its Manager. Also, the

typology of the “schools” in the sector was not so straightforward because, for example, although

some “schools” might be receiving donations from parents /guardians and/or from the community,

they could be categorised as “private schools”, if they were privately owned. Moreover, a

“Community school” might be sponsored not by the local community that it served but by a national

or international body (such as the Islamic Solidarity Association for West Africa). Nevertheless, the

assumption was that there was an entirely consistent understanding of this classification of “schools”

among the Managers concerned.

4.1.2. School size and School enrolment

Table 4.2 gives the number of “schools” by size while Table 4.3 shows the growth in the total

student enrolment in the surveyed “schools” in the years 2003/04 to 2005/06.

The figures in Table 4.3 show a “country differential” in total enrolment in the sampled institutions,

with the surveyed Madrassas in Gambia and in Mali but not in Niger enrolling consistently, more

students than the QSCs in recent years,. However, this finding masks the wide variations in

enrolment at the level of the individual “schools”. Thus, in the year 2005/06, most Madrassas across

the four countries had enrolled between 50 and 1,000 students, but in Mali and in Gambia a few had

admitted more than 1,000 students; indeed one in Mali had enrolled around 2,000 students whilst

one in Gambia had enrolled as many as 3,500 students (approximately).

Table 4.2: The number of surveyed “Schools” by Country, “School” size, and Designation of

“School” (in the Year 2005/06) [Note: M stands for the Designation Madrassas

Q stands for the Designation other Quranic Schooling Centres (QSCs)

* one non-response reduced the sample size to this number of “schools”

GAMBIA (N=73)

MALI (N=21)

NIGER (N=49)

SENEGAL (N=41) Size of “School”

M Q M Q M Q M Q SMALL

Less than 50 students 1 6 0 1 0 8 2 3

MEDIUM Between 50 to 1,000 students 42 15 10 8 9 25 26 10

LARGE More than 1,000 students 7 2 2 0 5 0 0 0

Total 50 23 12 9 14* 33* 28 13


This pattern of student intake was rather different from that found among the QSCs. For example, in

Gambia 55% (n=23) of the QSCs had admitted less than 50 students. Indeed, two of them had

recruited only 6 students while the remaining QSCs had enrolled around 120 students, on average.

By comparison, the frequency distribution for Niger’s QSCs showed one outlier straggling into the

extreme upper tail of the distribution, with more than 1,000 students, whilst the number of students

in the other QSCs varied greatly from a minimum of 20 to a maximum of about 700 and an average

of about 200.

4.1.2.1. The Gender Ratio in “School” enrolment Gender disparity (in enrolment) exists still in the State schools of some developing countries (see,

for example, Gacougnolle, 2004) even if, as in Niger, it may be “less perceptible” than the

impressive increase in the Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) in rural areas (Duret and Bernard, 2004)

and although in Sénégal the “Girl/Boy ratio” has gone from 80% in 2000 to 88% in 2003 (Niane,

2002). In the present study the number of female students enrolled to the number of male

students enrolled in any one year at a “school” was thought to be an appropriate indicator of

gender disparity and was denoted Gender Ratio (in enrolment).

Table 4.3 and its accompanying diagrams (Figures I to VII) depict the relationship between the

Year of enrolment and the Gender Ratio (GR) in the total student intake in recent years in the

surveyed Madrassas and other QSCs.. The increase in the Gender Ratios in Sénégal’s Madrassas

and in Niger’s QSCs are simply remarkable. In Niger, not only was the Gender Ratio in its

Centres in Year 2003/04 probably contrary to expectations, but it even reached the phenomenal

figure of 1.77, in the Year 2005/06. However, such a level of Gender Ratio required a closer look

at the enrolment data and it then emerged that in some institutions the number of girls enrolled

had doubled or even trebled that of boys, and that six of the 34 QSCs were female only

institutions.

Continuing with the focus on the Gender Ratio (in the sector), its steady rise in the Gambian

Madrassas contrasts vividly with the pattern of change in the ratio for the Gambian QSCs, as it

moved sharply upwards in the year 2004/05, only to fall to its lowest level the next year. Many

factors can affect the participation of women and girls in education in developing countries

(Brock and Cammish, 1997a) and cause changes in the GR, but this particular fluctuation in the

GR was probably due to one of the QSCs increasing its recruitment of female students tenfold in

one year (from 10 in Year 2003/04 to 100 in Year 2004/05) while another QSC, in contrast to this

expansionist strategy, reduced its female enrolment level by half (from 400 girls in Year 2003/04

to 200 girls in Year 2005/06), and yet another QSC started to recruit girls for the first time in Year

2004/05.


Table 4 3: Number of students enrolled by School Designation, Country, Year and Gender [Key: GR stands for Gender Ratio (No. of Female students to No. of Male students) in school

enrolment. QSCs stands for Quranic Schooling Centres other than Madrassass; N = Number of surveyed institutions ]

Number of students in GAMBIA Gender Ratio (GR) Year Male Female Total GR Fig:I GR for Madrassas by Year

2003/4 10,004 (59.4%)

6,845 (40.6%)

16,849 (100%) 0.69

2004/5 10,846 (58.9%)

7,564 (41.1%)

18,410 (100%) 0.70

Mad

rass

as (

N=5

0)

2005/6 12,119 (58.0%)

8,765 (42.0%)

20,884 (100%) 0.72

0.68 0.700.72

0.65

0.70

0.75

0.80

0.85

0.90

2003/4 2004/5 2005/6

Fig:II GR for other QSCs by Year

2003/4 977 (56.8%)

744 (42.2%)

1,721 (100%) 0.76

2004/5 1,017 (53.6%)

880 (46.4%)

1,897 (100%) 0.87

QSC

s (N

=23)

2005/6 1,215 (58.1%)

878 (41.9%)

2,093 (100%) 0.72

0.76

0.87

0.72

0.6 5

0 .70

0 .75

0 .80

0 .8 5

0 .90

20 03 /4 2 00 4 /5 2 00 5/6

Number of students in MALI Gender Ratio (GR) Year Male Female Total GR Fig:III GR for Madrassas by Year

2003/4 3516 (65.1%)

1881 (34.9%) 5,397 0.53

2004/5 3,837 (60.4%)

2,217 (34.9%) 6354 0.58

Mad

rass

as (

N=1

2)

2005/6 4,440 (61.2%)

2,751 (37.9%) 7251 0.62

0.53

0.58

0.62

0.45

0.50

0.55

0.60

0.65

2003/ 4 2004/ 5 2005/ 6

Fig:IV GR for other QSCs by Year

2003/4 1,589 (76.0%)

382 (24.0%) 1,589 0.32

2004/5 1,360 (81.2%)

314 (18.8%) 1,674 0.23

Q S

Cs

(N=9

)

2005/6 1,429 (77.2%)

422 (22.8%)

1,85 0.30

0.32

0.23

0.30

0 .20

0 .2 5

0 .30

0 .3 5

0 .40

20 03 /4 20 04 /5 200 5/6


Number of students in NIGER Gender Ratio (GR) Year Male Female Total GR Fig:V GR for Madrassas by Year

2003/4 1819 59.3%

1,251 40.7%

3,070100% 0.69

2004/5 4,042 60.9%

2,595 39.1%

6,637100% 0.64

Mad

rass

as (

N=1

5)

2005/6 5,686 57.1%

4,276 42.9%

9,962100% 0.75

0.69

0.64

0.75

0.50

0.60

0.70

0.80

2003/4 2004/5 2005/6

Fig:VI GR for other QSCs by Year

2003/4 1,108 38.6%

1,763 61.4%

2,871100% 1.59

2004/5 1,307 36.7%

2,254 63.3%

3,561100% 1.72

Q S

Cs

(N=3

4)

2005/6 2,458 36.1%

4,349 63.9%

6,807100% 1.77

1.59

1.721.77

1.50

1.60

1.70

1.80

2003/4 2004/5 2005/6

Number of students in SÉNÉGAL Gender Ratio (GR) Year Male Female Total GR Fig:VII GR for Madrassas by Year

2003/4 1562 (59.6%)

1058 (40.4%)

2620 (100%) 0.68

2004/5 1275 (55.0%)

1045 (45.0%)

2320 (100%) 0.82

2005/6 1505 (42.0%)

2075 (58.0%)

3580 (100%) 1.38

[Note: the enrolment data for the QSCs in Sénégal were not available]

Mad

rass

as (

N=

28)

0.68

0.82

1.38

0.50

0.70

0.90

1.10

1.30

1.50

1.70

2003/4 2004/5 2005/6

The Gender Ratio for enrolment in Mali’s QSCs is a cause for concern as it seems pegged at

around 0.3, and indicates that although female enrolment is on the increase it is still lagging

behind male enrolment.


4.1.3 The “School” Curriculum

4.1.3.1 The Curriculum framework ____ the strategic component

Table 4.4 shows only a small part of the considerable body of data about the “school” curriculum

for the sector. Nevertheless, the programmed Subject Areas together with the average number of

teacher-student contact hours allocated weekly for each of them provide a representation (albeit

an over-simplified one) of what was taken to be the “strategic component” of the curriculum __ as

in curriculum reform (ADEA, 2004). In addition, the table reflects a conceptualisation of the

curriculum as an ordered, authoritative, corpus of knowledge which has to be imparted by

teachers to learners through a structured presentation of subject matter in each named Subject

Area. Such a conceptualisation was evident in The Gambia (DoSE, 2003; GSIAE, 2004) and in

other countries too (Taylor and Muthall, 1997) and may be questionable (Obanya, 2004).

However, it proved useful for the purpose of curriculum analysis in the present study, given that

this report is concerned with summary and synthesis and that it attempts to get across, as

concisely as possible, a portrayal of the curriculum pattern and content for the sector.

Looking closely at the design of the strategic component of the curriculum, a striking feature is

the inclusion of a Core of Subject Areas, the term “Core” meaning here that part of a programme

of study which is common to all students (Benett and Tuxworth, 1984). The rationale for Core

studies in a particular programme of study is that the currency of the qualification to which the

programme leads is much assisted by such an identifiable, validated, core of learning in and

between programmes of study.

An analysis of the objectives and contents of the syllabuses for the Core studies across the four

countries surveyed was beyond the scope of this study. However, Table 4.4 lends weight to the

observation from a reading of the literature review (see Chapter III) that an academic perspective

stands out in the selection of Subject Areas for the Core and that, understandably, pride of place is

given to Islamic history, religious traditions, and the Arabic language __ judging from the balance

within the Core studies in terms of the share of the respective time allocations for the components

of the Core.

Another distinctive design feature of the framework is that the organisation of the Core may be

characterised as a hybrid of the “collection type” (Bernstein, 1975) of curriculum (with clearly

bounded subjects, like Mathematics and a country’s Official Language, insulated from each other)

and the “integrated type”, (with the “subordination” of previously insulated subjects like Science

and Computing to some issue/theme, such as the effects of Science and Technology on the

Environment). Regrettably, the scope of work for the present study did not allow the researchers


to investigate whether the concept of “integration” was extended to the whole curriculum through,

for example, cross-Subject Area assignments, on, say, the practical application of technical skills

to real life “problems”.

4.1.3.2 The time allocations for the programmes of study

As already indicated, Table 4.4 shows the average of the total number of weekly time-tabled,

teacher-student contact hours for each Subject Area for each Level within the Sector (that is, the

Primary school/ Secondary school/ Mature students Levels). Only the Subject Areas that are

common to most of the countries are included in Table 4.4. Also, for the Technical/ Business

Subject Areas and the Peripheral Subject Areas, the respective number of contact hours shown is

the sum of the time allocations for the individual components of these Subject Areas.

The Average (Mean) contact hours for each Subject Area was calculated by first totalling for each

Level, the number of contact hours time-tabled for each Grade within the Level, for that Subject

Area, and then averaging over the number of schools that provided the relevant data, within each

of the two categories of “Schools” (that is, the Madrassas and the other QSCs). This Average (or

Mean) indicates the typical number of contact hours (for each Subject Area at each Level). Where

there was evidence of variability across the “schools” in the total number of time-tabled weekly

contact hours, for a particular Subject Area, this variability was expressed through the

specification of the Maximum and Minimum numbers of contact hours (instead of being

summarised by the Standard Deviation, in keeping with conventional statistical practice).

Reflecting upon the data in Table 4.4, a revealing feature was precisely the marked variability in

the time allocations for the Subject Areas, within the one and same country, at all Levels of

schooling, and in both the Madrassa sub-sample and the sub-sample of other Quranic Schooling

Centres ___ although a response rate for an SCQ item that was too low did not warrant any

reliable statistical analysis of the variability. To pick out an illustrative example, the range in

teacher-student contact hours at the first Level of schooling in the Madrassas, in Gambia, was

from 120 hours (maximum) to 2.8 hours (minimum) for Islamic Studies, and from 100 hours

(maximum) to 3 hours (minimum) for the study of the Arabic Language. Other examples of such

lack of homogeneity in the weekly time allocations were found in Niger, where the time

allocation at the first Level for French (the official language) varied from 90 hours (maximum) to

7 hours (minimum) and in Mali where in the Lower Basic/Primary Schools a minimum of 9 hours

and a maximum of 67.5 hours weekly were allotted to the study of the Arabic language.

4.1.3.3 Curriculum Control

The finding of such excessive variability raised questions such as the following about the control

of the curriculum, and about school autonomy:


(a) how much flexibility did the “schools” in the sector have at all levels of schooling, in

terms of diverging from the time-tabled hours for the Subject Areas that were formally

allocated by the relevant Education authorities (such as the Islamic Education Authority)

and/or by the State?

(b) how much did the “schools” value the Subject Areas, (taking the respective proportions of

time allotted to them in the curriculum as indicating their perceived values)? The point

here was that, how educational knowledge is distributed across the time-table reflects

implicitly the value judgements of those Education authorities that maintain control over

the curriculum (Kogan, 1986)


Table 4.4: The Average Number of allocated teacher-student contact hours, per week, per Subject Area, by

Level, School Designation, and Country (in the academic Year 2006/07) (see the Note on the next page)

Average No. of allocated contact hours, per week, per Subject Area Level 7 to-12 yr olds (Grades 1 to 6) in Lower Basic/ Primary

School or equivalent setting 13 to 16 yr olds (Grades7 to 9) in Upper BasicJunior

Secondary School or equivalent setting Subject Areas Country GAMBIA MALI NIGER GAMBIA MALI NIGER

Range of allotted time

M N=50

Q N=23

M (N=12)

Q (N=9)

M N=14

Q N=35

M N=50

Q N=23

M (N=12)

Q (N=9)

M N=14

Q N=35

Islamic Studies

Max: in hrs Average in hrs

Min: in hrs(n)

120.033.3 2.8

46

51.026.92.1

13

5.05.05.0

12 0

28.0 8.2 .75

10

60.018.63.1

31

33.017.01.3

13

3.03.03.0

3 0

9.09.09.0

4

Official Language

Max: in hrsAverage in hrs

Min: in hrs(n)

37.013.11.5

43

42.021.51.0

2

5.05.05.0

12 0

90.0 51.5 7.0

10

30.0 1

12.07.42.3

28 0

333

3 0

14.012.55.0

6

Lan

guag

es

Arabic


Min: in hrs(n)

100.026.23.0

46

60.024.76.0

6

67.539.19.0

12

180.062.03.0

3

90.0 61.5 18.0

8

53.0

1

40.015.32.3

30

60.022.93.0

6

21.021.021.0

3

105.036.21.75

3

15.015.015.0

5

15.0

1

Maths:


Min: in hrs(n)

60.013.51.9

48

24.021.018.0

2

30.022.09.0

12 0

50.0 17.6 6.0

10

5.0

1

22.08.02.2

30

12.010.59.0

2

1615.3

153 0

15.010.75.0

6

0

Science & Health


Min: in hrs(n)

36.011.71.5

38

12.06.72.0

3

6.06.06.0

2 0

7.0 4.0 1.0

2 0

18.05.562.3

23

6.03.72.0

3 0 0 0

0

Cor

e Su

bjec

t Are

as

Oth

er C

ore

Subj

ect A

reas

Social & Enviro: Studies


Min: in hrs(n)

28.09.21.0

38

24.021.018.0

2

42.012.83.0

4 0

11.5 8.7 2.0

6 0

24.05.62.3

24

12.010.59.0

2 0 0

7.0

1

0

Technical/Business Subject Areas *


Min: in hrs(n)

24.06.01.3

12

7.27.17.0

2

20.09.64.2

11 0

3.0

1 0

17.05.92.3

6

12.06.03.0

3

6.05.75.0

3 0

6.06.06.0

5

0

Peripheral Subject Areas **


Min: in hrs(n)

25.08.51.5

32

19.510.83.0

6

15.06.92.7

11 0

72.0 15.6 2.7

3 0

13.04.10.8

18

9.86.72.0

3

6.05.03.0

3 0

6.05.171.0

6

0


Table 4.4: (continued):

Average No. of allocated contact hours, per week, per Subject Area Level 17 to 19 yr olds (Grades 10 to 12) in Senior Secondary

School or equivalent setting Not specified by age and /or level (MATURE) Subject Areas Country GAMBIA MALI NIGER GAMBIA MALI NIGER

Range of allotted time

M N=50

Q N=23

M (N=12)

Q (N=9)

M N=14

Q N=35

M N=50

Q N=23

M (N=12)

Q (N=9)

M N=14

Q N=35

Islamic Studies


Min: in hrs(n)

39.015.82.3

13

48.023.86.0

10

3.03.03.0

1 0

9.07.03.0

4

2.0 2.0 2.0

2

38.0 17.8 2.0

9

0

0

3.0 2.0 2.3

4

15.0 9.5 5.0

8

Official Language Max in hrs

Average in hrsMin in hrs

(n)

14.07.13.0

13 0

3.03.03.0

1 0

26.09.04.0

6

3.8 2.3 1.5

4

4.0 2.5 1.5

3

0

0

4.0 4.0 4.0

4

Lan

guag

es

Arabic

Max in hrsAverage in hrs

Min in hrs(n)

36.016.24.5

12

60.026.69.0

4

15.015.015.0

1

10536.21.75

3

13.09.45.0

5

15.0

1

4.0 2.3 1.5

3

14.0 6.5 1.5

3

0

0

4.0 4.0 4.0

3

30.0 13.2 5.0

13

Maths:


Min in hrs(n)

11.05.83.0

11

12.0

1

2.0

1 0

16.09.85.0

6

2.3 1.6 1.5

4

15.0 9.5 4.0

2

0

0

5.0 4.5 4.0

4

5.0

1

Science & Health


Min in hrs(n)

13.05.72.0

9

6.0

1 0 0

2.31.91.5

2

1.5

1 0 0 0

Cor

e Su

bjec

t Are

as

Oth

er C

ore

Subj

ect A

reas

Social& Enviro: Studies


Min in hrs(n)

10.05.63.0

9

12.06.51.0

2 0 0

3.0

1

2.3 1.8 1.5

3

1.0

1 0 0

Technical/Business Subject Areas


Min in hrs(n)

15.010.06.0

3 0 0 0

6.0 4.4 2.0

5

3.0

1 0 0

2.0 2.0 2.0

3

Peripheral Subject Areas Max in hrs

Average in hrsMin in hrs

(n)

17.04.51.0

10 0

6.0 5.0 3.0

3 0

6.0 4.33 2.0

6

7.02.20.8

6 0 0 0

222

4

[Note: M stands for the Designation Madrassa; Q stands for the Designation Other Quranic Schooling Centre ; N stands for the Sample Size; (n) stands for the Number of “schools” that actually responded for that Subject Area * Technical/Business Subject Areas include Agriculture, Woodwork, Metalwork, Business Studies,Home Economics, Technical Drawing and Arts & Crafts.;** Peripheral Subject Areas include Music Singing and Physical Education ].


■ Flexibility in curriculum implementation

To take the question of flexibility first, the presumption had been that the Madrassas and

the other QSCs worked within the prescriptions laid down by the Education authorities to

which they were answerable. Yet, as Table 4.5A shows, it seems that in Gambia the

Islamic Education authority and the Government allowed the “Managers” of the Madrassas

to work with varying amounts of deviation from the prescribed time allocations for the

Subject Areas. Also, regrettably, the Curriculum analysis for the francophone countries

was hampered by the limited evidence available from the Islamic Education authorities, and

from Government.

■ The relative values of the Core Subject Areas

Taking next the question of the relative values implicit in the curriculum for the Subject

Areas, Tables 4.5A and B presents the average weekly time allocation for each Subject

Area as a proportion of the sum of all the average weekly time allocations for all the

Subject Areas. Regrettably the data for this analysis were available from Gambia and Niger

only.

The table exposes a major difference between these two countries in curricular pattern even

though both countries require Primary School/ Lower Basic School children in Madrassas

to learn both the Arabic language and the Official language of the country. That difference

was particularly marked in the relative emphasis on the study of the two languages as

indicated by the total amount of time devoted as a proportion of the total weekly time-

tabled contact hours: about 71% in Niger against 32% in Gambia. This difference in

emphasis prompted a close attention to the literature review (in Chapter III) as it narrates

the growth of Bilingual (Franco-Arab) schools in Niger (and also in Mali and Senegal),

particularly since the year 2000 —— although Niger’s Country report states that “the 15

bilingual schools operating in the formal system do not have the freedom to expand their

programs to new publics”.

Pursuing this line of enquiry while continuing to look at the detailed survey data available

for Gambia, it transpired that in the Gambian curriculum the Islamic Studies were at the top

of the list of Subject Areas for the Lower Basic/ Primary “schools”, followed by the study

of the Arabic language. Moreover, summing up the time allocations for these two Subject

Areas showed the proportions of the total weekly contact time for the Arabic Language and

for Islamic Studies standing at about 49 per cent for the Madrassas at this level against 37

per cent for the other QSCs at the same level but reaching about 67% in the QSCs at the

Senior Secondary School level with the two subjects in reverse order and this proportion

below the 77 per cent prescribed by the General Secretariat for Islamic/Arabic Education in


Table 4.5A: The proportions of the total weekly time allocations by Level, Subject Area,

School Designation, Data Source and Country (in the academic Year 2006/07) [Note: for Tables 4.5A and 4.5B: (a) only the proportions in institutions that recruit school-going age students are tabulated here because

the small numbers of Mature students are not amenable to statistical analysis (see Table 4.4) (b) only the Subject Areas that are common to the four countries and to the three Levels are included;

hence, Life Skills Education, the study of languages other than Arabic and the official language, and ICT are not included here.

(c) (i) Social & Environmental Studies include Geography, (ii) The Technical/ Business Subject Areas include Agriculture, Arts & crafts, Business Studies and

Home Economics (iii) The Peripheral Subject Area includes Music, Singing and Physical Education

(d) a blank cell in the tables indicates that the information was not available or meaningful

Key: “Survey” refers to the Baseline Survey and “Authority” to the Islamic Education Authority or equivalent body in the country, M stands for Madrassas; Q for other Quranic Schooling Centres; S for State schools, Govt for Government and Envirt for Environment ]

Proportions (%) of the total weekly time allocated by Level and School Designation

Lower Basic/ Primary School Level

Upper Basic/ Junior Secondary School

Level

Senior Secondary School Level

Subject Areas in

GAMBIA

Data Source

M(%) Q(%) S(%) M(%) Q(%) S(%) M(%) Q(%) S(%)

Survey 27.5 19.3 26.4 21.9 22.3 31.8 Authority 27.0 35.5 51.6

Islamic Studies

Govt 7.6 7.4 Survey 10.8 15.4 10.5 10.0 Authority 14.5 12.9 9.7

Official Language

Govt 15.4 14.8 13.9Survey 21.2 17.7 21.7 29.5 22.9 35.5 Authority 30.6 25.9 25.8 L

angu

ages

Ara

bic

Govt Survey 11.1 15.0 11.4 13.6 8.2 16.0 Authority 12.9 9.7 6.5 Maths. Govt 15.4 14.8 13.9Survey 9.6 4.8 7.9 4.8 8.1 8.0 Authority 4.8 6.4 3.2

Science &

Health Govt 15.4 14.8 11.1Survey 7.6 15.0 7.9 13.6 7.9 8.7 Authority 4.8 9.6 3.2

CO

RE

SU

BJE

CT

AR

EA

S

Oth

er C

ore

Subj

ect A

reas

Social & Envirt Studies Govt 15.4 14.8 11.1

Survey 5.2 5.1 8.4 7.7 14.1 Authority

Technical/ Business Subject

Areas Govt 15.4 25.9 44.5Survey 7.0 7.7 5.8 8.9 6.4 Authority 4.8

Peripheral Subject Areas

Govt 15.4 7.4 5.5


Table 4 5B:

The proportions of the total weekly time allocations in Madrassas in Niger by Level, Subject Area, (in the academic Year 2006/07)

[Note: The Data Source is the Survey]

Proportions (%) of the total weekly time allocated by Level Subject Areas

in NIGER Lower Basic/ Primary School

Level

Upper Basic/ Junior Secondary School

Level

Senior Secondary

School Level

Islamic Studies 5.2% 13.8% 14.7%

Official Language 32.5% 10.1% 19.0%

Lan

guag

es

Arabic 38.2% 23.0% 21.8%

Maths. 11.1% 16.3% 20.7%

Science & Health 2.5% 0.0% 0.0% CO

RE

SU

BJE

CT

AR

EA

S

Oth

er C

ore

Subj

ect A

reas

Social & Envirt Studies

5.5% 10.7% 6.3%

Technical/ Business Subject Areas 0.0% 9.2% 8.4%

Peripheral Subject Areas 5.1% 7.9% 9.1%

the country for the Madrassas (see Chapter III). Thus the figures in Table 4.5A and B make

the point that, quite clearly, in Gambia these are the studies that are perceived to be central

to the lives of students when they attend the Madrassas or the other QSCs. Indeed, this

thrust of the educational provision in both the surveyed QSCs and the Islamic/Arabic

Educational authority’s curriculum framework contrasts sharply with that of the Gambian

Government for, the curriculum pattern in the State schools is one that is almost completely

evenly balanced during the early years of schooling but changes to one which jettisons

religious studies at Secondary School level except on an optional basis and is highly biased

towards Technical/ Business Subject Areas, presumably at the behest of contemporary

economic, social and political demands. Such a conspicuous contrast raises questions

regarding the agreement between the Government and the General Secretariat for

Islamic/Arabic Education in The Gambia about synchronising the respective syllabuses for

Basic Education in the State Schools and in the Madrassas, and also about the syllabuses


which have been prepared for the Senior Secondary schools that offer Islamic Studies as an

option (see Chapter III).

Looking further into the balance struck between the components of the Core Subject Areas

in Gambia (again, in terms of the proportions of weekly time allocations and not against

any stated specific educational objectives and competencies to be developed), Table 4.5A

also shows that Science and Health at the Lower Basic/Primary school level in the

Madrassas was allocated almost twice the time allotted at the QSCs for that same Subject

Area, thus implicitly making clear the relatively high value attached to this area of study —

specially when compared with its almost complete omission in Niger’s curriculum through

the years of Secondary School education. On the other hand, turning to the time allocated

to the three remaining Core Subject Areas (namely, the Official Language, Mathematics

and Social & Environmental Studies), the direction of the difference between the Madrassas

and the other QSCs was reversed, that is, for each of these Subject Areas proportionately

more time was timetabled weekly at the QSCs than at the Madrassas.

■ The relative values of the Technical /Business Subject Areas and of the Peripheral

Subject Areas

The “Managers” of the sampled institutions had also been questioned about the respective

number of hours of formal teaching/ learning that were time-tabled, weekly, for the study of

the individual subjects within the Technical/ Business Subject Areas (such as Woodwork,

Metalwork, Home Economics, and Arts & Crafts). Their responses brought home in stark

form, that in Gambia this particular component of the curriculum was marginalised at the

start of schooling both in the Madrassas and in the other QSCs, with only about 5.2% of the

weekly contact hours devoted to it ___ even less time than that allocated to the Peripheral

Subject Areas (such as Music and Physical Education). However, whilst at the QSCs the

studies in the Technical/ Business Subject Areas, were confined to the Basic Educational

cycle, at the Madrassas these studies were given more importance after the Basic Education

cycle, with the proportion of time-tabled weekly contact hours rising to about 14% although

this increase is nothing like that in the State Schools (where the proportion reached 44.5%)

and masked the fact that Home Economics was not covered at all in the surveyed “schools”.

Information about the number of teacher-contact hours allocated for the Technical/

Business Subject Areas at the QSCs was singularly lacking in the three targeted

francophone countries. However, technical subjects are taught in the Sénégalese Madrassas

(according to its Country Report). Also, in Niger the teaching of this subject matter in a

few Madrassas would appear to be concentrated at the upper end of Basic Education Cycle,

and at Senior Secondary School level, whilst in Mali there was provision for such teaching


through all the years of Basic Education and, both countries allocated rather similar

amounts of time to this subject area (per week) as in Gambia.

Turning next to the Peripheral Subject Areas, Physical Education and music (including

singing) were not available at the Quranic Schooling Centres other than the Madrassas —

even though it was acknowledged that the former is important for good health and the latter

for education of feelings.

4.1.3.4. The Skills Component of the curriculum

The term “skill” is used in different ways by different people and the forthcoming

definition of skills for Africa in the 21st Century may be expected to clarify the meaning of

the term (Boukary, 2005). However, as used here, the term refers not only to the abilities

that a person may have (such as the ability to express him/herself and the ability to apply

knowledge to his/her job), but also to the behaviours that are pertinent to his/her self-

fulfilment and to his/her attitudes towards psychosocial issues such as conflict resolution

and gender equity. In the present study, the Self-Completion Questionnaire for the

“Managers” had focused on those skills that can be applied in various aspects of work and

life and that provide a foundation for developing personal effectiveness. As Appendix 1

shows, these skills were grouped under five main headings which were: (a) Life Skills (b)

Skills for Employment (c) Skills for improving income-earning activities (d) Enterprising

Skills (e) Other Skills, namely, Personal Skills, Social Skills, Learning Skills and

Operational Skills.

On the understanding then that .without such skills one is likely to be doomed to work in

the least secure areas of the labour market or to leave it altogether, and that with regard to

the “schools” curriculum its relevance includes preparing students “not for to-day’s world

but for society as it will develop in the next fifty years” (Vespoor, 2003), the “school”

“Managers” were questioned about the coverage of the Skills component of the curriculum

at their “schools”. In the event, even a cursory glance at Table 4.6 shows that, the response

rate was low, presumably, because few “schools” across the four targeted countries, and at

all the levels of education, were able to handle this component of the curriculum

comprehensively. That said, on a close analysis of the data for the five Categories of skills

mentioned above (see Table 4.6), it emerged that there was a clear dividing line in the study

of Functional Budgeting for the household between, on the one hand Mali and Sénégal

offering it, and on the other hand Niger and Gambia making no provision for it. Evidently

too, the study of Personal Skills (such as working with others in teams and showing

concern for others) and the Studies of Peace Building and tolerance ranked relatively high

in terms of the number of “schools” that claimed to cover these studies widely or fairly


widely ( across the age groups). A number of “schools” in Gambia, Mali and Niger,

particularly in the Primary/ Lower Basic schools and in the Junior Secondary/ Upper Basic

Schools, offered in addition Functional literacy in French or English, Functional

Mathematics, and Learning Skills (such as how to learn independently), Operational Skills

(such as problem-solving skills and decision-making skills) and Studies of Gender equity.

These findings contrasted with the evidence that few “schools” that provided for studies in

Marketing, Developing Business ideas (as aspects of Enterprising Skills) and Computer

Literacy (for Secondary School students and Mature students).

Table 4.6: The number of surveyed “schools” that covered the Skills Component during

at least one of the educational cycles by School Designation, Skills Category and Country (in the academic Year 2006/07)

GAMBIA MALI NIGER SÉNÉGALSkills Category M

(N=50)Q

(N=23)Total

(N=73)M

(N=12) M

(N=15)Q

(N=34)Total

(N=49) Total

(N=41) Studies of Peace Building and tolerance

25 10 35 10 9 15 23 0

Studies of gender equity 15 9 24 3 5 11 16 0

Life

Ski

lls

Functional Budgeting for the household

0 0 0 4 0 0 0 4

Functional literacy in the Official Language

13 1 14 8 1 10 11 1

Functional Mathematics 18 1 19 4 4 7 11 0

Skill

s for

E

mpl

oym

ent

Computer literacy 3 0 3 0 2 3 5 0

Marketing 0 2 2 2 2 5 7 0

Ent

erpr

isin

g Sk

ills

Developing Business ideas 1 2 3 2 2 5 7 0

Personal Skills (e.g.teamwork) 16 5 21 8 13 28 41 0

Learning Skills 20 7 27 6 9 12 21 0

Oth

er S

kills

Operational Skills (eg problem solving)

13 3 16 4 9 10 19 0

[Key: M = Madrassas; Q = Quranic Schooling Centres other than Madrassas; N= the number of such designated “schools” in the survey sample]

Regrettably, organisational records of the time-tables and programme contents for the listed

skills were hard to come by in the surveyed “schools” ___ as were relevant official

documents from the Islamic Education Authority and from the Gambian Government,

except for the policy pronouncements of the latter. Consequently, the notion of examining


these “schools’” divergence from the Authority and/or from the State was of no use in the

context of skills education in this sector of the Islamic Education system.

4.1.3.5. Vocational education and training

The curriculum analysis moved on to taking a close look at the provision of Vocational

education and training at the surveyed institutions on the ground that, as Bregman (2004)

has put it, “the time has come for sub-Saharan Africa to renew its secondary education

programmes and to create the critical mass of skilled workers and youth necessary for the

continent’s economic and social development”___ on the understanding that “Junior

secondary education should allow students to master general pre-vocational skills” and that

“senior secondary school should be close to the world of work”, whilst “training for

specific jobs should take place later and be directed by employers and enterprises”. Also,

bearing in mind that in many developing countries, the informal sector of industry and

commerce may be the main provider of employment for a growing sector of the population,

the present study gave due consideration to the balance (of knowledge, attitudes, and skills)

in the curriculum which was necessary for developing students’ potential, and preparing

them for employment and self-employment in the informal sector. Consequently, the

“school” “Managers” were asked whether their curriculum offerings included the option to

pursue Vocational education and training programmes in Technical/ Business Subject

Areas (such as Engineering, Construction, Distribution and Business), apart from any

provision for the acquisition of basic Cognitive skills (for Literacy, Numeracy, and

Communication), Social skills and Personal skills. The question was a relevant one for

most of the student groups, namely, the Secondary School student groups, the Out-of-

school Youth groups, the Non-Formal Adult Education groups and Women’s only groups.

The researchers acknowledged the need to question the respondents about the strategies for

education (in the informal sector) which combine vocational competencies (that is,

technical and entrepreneurial competencies) with generalised competencies (Singh, 1998),

but decided that researching along these lines was beyond their present remit.

Table 4.7 summarises the findings. A first point of interest in the table was that the lack of

any provision of vocational education and training for the Out-of-school Youth and the

Mature students in Niger’s Madrassas stood in stark contrast to the level of provision for

such student groups in its other Quranic Schooling Centres and to the equally sizeable

provision in the Sénégalese Madrassas.

A second point of interest was the almost complete absence of any provision for vocational

education at Junior Secondary/ Upper Basic School level in all four countries at their

Quranic Schooling Centres other than Madrassas — probably reflecting a consensus view


among these centres that vocational education is not appropriate at this level. The evidence

also showed that all the Madrassas (in all the four countries) that offered a vocational

education option at the Upper Basic/ Junior Secondary School level were located in Urban

areas.

Whether there was a formal system in place for introducing girls to traditionally male-

dominated subjects (such as Engineering) was another question raised in the study.

However, most respondent “schools” across the four countries were silent on this issue

except for two Madrassas and one other QSC in Sénégal .

Yet another picture that emerged from the survey was that whilst in Niger the offers of

vocational education were in all the traditional technical and commercial subject areas

(such as Engineering, Construction, Business ,and the Retail industry), in Gambia the offers

were mostly in the areas of Hospitality and Catering, and Health and Social Care , ___ and

surprisingly, not in Travel and Tourism or in Construction given the country’s recent

accelerated developments in these industries. However, lurking behind this issue may be

the question of the values being advanced through the curriculum. Putting it differently, it

may be that the Gambian providers of vocational education in this sector of the Islamic

Education system were not subordinating their educational practices to the national goal of

economic development but were delivering instead an education which is more attuned to

their philosophy of life, with their ideas about social affairs and about religious teaching

firmly clinched.

Table 4.7: The number of surveyed “schools” that included the option to

pursue a Vocational Education programme by Student Group, School Designation and Country (in Year 2007)

GAMBIA (N=73) MALI (N=21) NIGER (N=49) SENEGAL

(N=41) Student Group

M (n=33) Q (n=8) M(n=6) Q(n=3) M (n=13) Q (n=3) M (n=24) Q (n=3) Junior Secondary/ Upper Basic School Group

6 (18.2%)

0 (0.0%)

2 (33.3%)

0 (0.0%)

3 (23.1%)

0 (0.0%)

12 (50%)

1 (33.3%)

M (n=31) Q (n=8) M(n=6) Q(n=3) M (n=4) Q (n=22) M(n=23) Q (n=4) Out-of-school Youth, Adults, or Women’s groups

4 (12.9%)

1 (12.5%)

2 (33.3%)

0 (0.0%)

0 (0.0%)

11 (50.0%)

11 (47.8%)

2 (50.0%)

[Key: N = the total number of such designated “schools” in the survey sample n = the total number of respondent “schools” that provided education for this student group M stands for the Designation Madrassa; Q stands for the Designation Other Quranic Schooling Centres]


4.1.4 School Effectiveness

In recent years African educationists have attempted to relate school effectiveness to various

factors, such as school resources, community support, the availability of textbooks and the

examination system (ADEA, 1995); and some of the constraints on the effectiveness of rural

primary schools, particularly in developing countries, have been investigated (Taylor and

Mukhall,1997). Furthermore,, at ADEA’s 2006 Biennial meeting of African ministers of

Education, a major theme was quality improvement at the school level in terms of “increasing

school effectiveness and transforming resources into results”. Given therefore that school

effectiveness is so important and in spite of some confusion about the meaning of the term,

“effectiveness” (as it is subject to variations in definition), the present study looked at the

effectiveness of the sampled “schools” through two constructs, namely, “internal efficiency”

and “external efficiency” (Samoff et al, 1996). However, all that was possible in the

circumstances, with regard to the “internal efficiency”, was to obtain the yearly Pass Rates in

the “school” examinations and the number of “school” drop-outs in recent years as crude

Performance indicators, and as for “external efficiency” the “school” “Managers” were asked

whether there was a tracer system in place at their “schools” and what was the number of male

and female Secondary School leavers who went into further education or into work within

various sectors of employment in the previous three years. Arguably, the choice of such

indicators could be seen as putting an undue emphasis on what can be measured in education

but it was simply not possible to look at other relevant matters such as the procedures for the

examinations, and the range of cognitive and affective learning outcomes.

4.1.4.1 Internal Efficiency

4.1.4.1.1 The Pass Rates

Table 4.8 sets out the Pass Rates for Madrassas for each cycle of school education. A few

QSCs in Gambia had entered students for the examinations but the numbers were so small

(four from Grade 6, three from Grade 9 and two from Grade 12) that they were not

included in this analysis. Such as it is, the evidence from the data goes a long way to

ascertaining that apart from Niger’s Junior Secondary/ Upper Basic schools, the sampled

“schools” were performing fairly satisfactorily on the whole with regard to the Basic

Education cycle. As Niger’s country report explains, the Pass Rates were “congruent with

the national ones” and “following a general outcry about the 2005 exams, a new system

was established in 2006”. However, there must be some concern about the small scale

and effectiveness of the educational provision at Senior Secondary School level in Mali

and in Niger — not to mention the evidence of the traditional gender disparities in girls’

schooling and academic achievement in developing countries in Africa (ERNWACA,

2003)


Table 4.8:

The Pass Rates for Final Year students at the surveyed Madrassas by Level/ Grade, Gender, School Year and Country

[Note: the Pass Rate is the percentage of examination candidates who pass the examination in a particular Grade and School Year.

Key: N = Number of surveyed “schools”; n=number of surveyed “schools” that entered students fo the examination]

GAMBIA (N = 50) NIGER (N=15) School year 2004/05 School Year 2005/06 School year 2004/05 School Year 2005/06

Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female No. who sat the examination

1838 n= 42

1202 n= 42

1842 n=50

1409 n= 50

165 n=7

158 n=7

309 n=10

269 n=10

No. who passed the examination 1210 781 1210 893 146 136 203 151

Grade 6 (Final Year at

Primary/ Lower Basic

School) Pass Rate (%) 65.8% 65.0% 65.7% 63.4% 88.5% 86.1% 65.7% 56.1% No. who sat the examination

1194 n= 30

508 n= 27

1073 n= 33

538 n= 31

287 n= 3

100 n= 3

163 n= 4

83 n= 4



Junior Secondary

/Upper Basic School) Pass Rate (%) 87.5% 87.2% 89.3% 89.4% 23.7% 41.0% 11.7% 6.0%

No. who sat the examination

408 n= 12

141 n= 10

445 n= 13

140 n= 10

10 n=1

1 n=1

13 n=2

6 n=2



Senior Secondary

School) Pass Rate (%) 95.6% 91.5% 95.7% 91.4% 0.0% 0.0% 23.1% 33.3%

MALI (N=12)

School year 2004/05 School Year 2005/06

Male Female Male Female No. who sat the examination

335 n=5

113 n=4

383 n=5

135 n=5

No. who passed the examination 306 98 264 115

Grade 6 (Final Year at Primary/

Lower Basic School) Pass Rate (%) 91.3% 86.7% 68.9% 65.2%


114 n=3

37 n=3

148 n=3

35 n=

No. who passed the examination 110 28 145 34

Grade 9 (Final Year

at Junior Secondary

/UpperBasic School) Pass Rate (%) 98.5% 75.7% 98.0% 97.1%


19 n=1

n=0

76 n=1

n=0

No. who passed the examination

19 16

Grade 12 (Final Year at Senior

Secondary School) Pass Rate (%) 100% 21.1%

The Repetition rate is another important indicator of internal efficiency but it was thought

unrealistic to expect the “school” “Managers” to produce the relevant data on time.

4.1.4.1.2 The School Drop-outs

As already indicated, the drop-out rate is important for assessing the internal efficiency of

schools. It is also important because the drop-out population is at risk of reverting to

illiteracy and of remaining unemployed and is therefore “more of a liability than an asset

to society” (Miguel and Barsage, 1997).


The “school” “Managers” were not asked to name the reasons given locally for students

to drop-out from “school”. The assumption was that the reasons could be the high school

fees, the long distance between home and school, an inappropriate teaching style, an

unfriendly school environment, an ill-suited school calendar, and parents’ views about

schooling (for example, that it is too high an opportunity cost).

Referring to Table 4.9, the Gambian Madrassas were the only ones for which the set of

data necessary for estimating the drop-out rate (for the Basic Education cycle) was

complete and sufficiently large. It is clear from the table that an increasing number of

Madrassas were entering students for the two end-of-cycle examinations and also that an

increasing number of female students from both rural and urban districts were taking the

Grade 6 examination. However, a higher proportion of female students were dropping

out from the Community Madrassas than from the Private Madrassas in Grade 6 and in

both rural and urban areas. The reverse though was happening in Grade 9, except in the

Year 2004/05 with the dramatic drop-out rate of almost 10% (n=81) in the Community

Madrassas. The factors associated with the drop-out rate among female students,

specially among rural teenage girls are well-known (see, for example, Kent and Mushi,

1995), and the present study did not therefore seek to explore this issue.

4.1.4.1.3 The organisation of student groups

The study had also sought to find out the different ways in which student groups were

organised for teaching-learning purposes. The question was whether teaching-learning

was organised along single-grade lines or along multi-grade lines or along multi-age

lines, in addition to the personalised teaching referred to in the literature review (see

Chapter III). The detailed information provided by Gambia about this aspect of school

organisation was revealing. It disclosed that with regard to the Basic Education cycle

single-grade teaching was predominant in 80% of the Madrassas whereas the conditions

of leaning common in the majority (60%) of QSCs, in both rural and urban settings, were

those associated with multi-grade teaching (within grade). The point is that schools run

on such lines are a cost-effective way of providing basic education in sparsely populated

rural areas provided the teachers are “well organised, well resourced and well trained”

and “hold positive attitudes to multigrade teaching” (Little, 1995) Moreover, with

increasing student enrolment some (26%) Madrassas and one rural QSC operated a

Double-shift system probably as another means of enhancing cost-effectiveness. None of

the surveyed “schools” in the three francophone countries reported having a double-shift

system in place.


Table 4.9: The respective Drop-out Rates among Grade 6 and Grade 9 Madrassa students by

Grade, Gender and School Year [Note: the Drop-Out Rate for each Grade was estimated by dividing the number of drop-outs by the total number of students who sat the examination and the number who dropped-out]

GAMBIAN MADRASSAS (GRADE 6 DROP-OUT RATES) Year 2004/05 Year 2005/06 Rural Area Rural Area

GENDER Total No. GENDER Total No.

Type of “School” & Number of Drop-Outs Males Females

Number. of “schools” of Students

for 2004/05 Males Females Number. of “schools” of Students

for 2004/05Privately owned 432 321 (n=9) 753 540 395 (n=9) 935 No. Drop-Outs 6 8 14 6 13 19% Drop-Outs (1.4%) (2.4%) (1.8%) (1.1%) (3.2%) (2.0%) Community 274 197 (n=12) 471 360 271 (n=14) 631

No. Drop-Outs 14 17 31 19 18 37% Drop-Outs (4.9%) (7.9%) 6.2% (5.0%) (6.2%) 5.5%

Total 706 518 (n=21) 1,224 900 666 (n=23) 1,566 No. Drop-Outs 20 25 45 25 31 56 % Drop-Outs (2.8%) (4.6%) (3.5%) (2.7) (4.4%) (3.5%)

Urban Area Urban Area Privately owned 805 456 (n=12) 1,261 622 483 (n=14) 1,105 No. Drop-Outs 35 15 50 40 24 64% Drop-Outs (4.2%) (3.2%) (3.8%) 6.0% 4.7% (5.5%) Community 327 228 (n=7) 555 290 240 (n=8) 530

No. Drop-Outs 12 15 27 19 20 39 % Drop-Outs (3.5%) (6.2%) (4.6%) (6.1%) (7.7%) (6.9%)

Other - - (n=0) - 30 20 (n=1) 50 No. Drop-Outs - - - 0 4 4 % Drop-Outs - - - (0.0%) (17%) (7.4%)

Total 1,132 684 (n=19) 1,816 942 743 (n=23) 1,685 No. Drop-Outs 47 30 77 59 48 107 % Drop-Outs (4.1%) (4.2%) (4.1%) (5.9%) (6.1%) (6.0%) Grand Total 1838 1202 (n=40) 3,040 1842 1409 (n=46) 3251 No. Drop-outs 67 55 122 84 79 163 % Drop-Outs (3.5%) (4.4%) (4.4%) (5.3%)

% DROP-OUTS for 2004/05 (3.9%) for 2005/06 (4.8%)

GAMBIAN MADRASSAS (GRADE 9 DROP-OUT RATES) Year 2004/05 Year 2005/06 Rural Area Rural Area

Gender Gender

Type of “School”& Number of Drop-Outs Males Females

Number. of “schools”

Total No. of Students for 2004/05 Males Females

Number. of “schools”

Total No. of Students for 2004/05

Privately owned 171 63 (n=6) 234 161 93 (n=6) 254 No. Drop-Outs 5 3 8 3 7 10% Drop-Outs 2.8% 4.5% 3.3% 1.8% 7.0% 3.8%

Community 87 73 (n=7) 160 112 68 (n=7) 180 No. Drop-Outs 5 8 13 3 2 5% Drop-Outs 5.4% 9.9% 7.5% 2.6% 2.9% 2.7%

Total 258 136 (n=13) 394 273 161 (n=13) 434 No. Drop-Outs 10 11 21 6 9 15 % Drop-Outs (3.7%) (7.5%) (5.6%) (2.2%) (5.3%) (3.3%)

Urban Area Urban Area Privately owned 432 154 (n=8) 586 469 192 (n=10) 661 No. Drop-Outs 15 10 25 20 14 34% Drop-Outs 3.4% 6.1% 4.1% 4.1% 6.8% 4.9% Community 504 218 (n=7) 722 331 185 (n=7) 516

No. Drop-Outs 7 4 11 7 4 11 % Drop-Outs 1.4% 1.8% 1.5% 2.1% 2.2%

Total 936 372 (n=15) 1306 800 377 (n=17) 1177 No. Drop-Outs 22 14 36 27 18 45 % Drop-Outs (2.3%) (3.6%) (2.7%) (3.3%) (4.6%) (3.7%) Grand Total 1194 508 (n=28) 1702 1073 538 (n=30) 1611 No. Drop-outs 32 25 57 33 27 60 % Drop-Outs 2.6% 4.7% 3.0% 4.8%

% DROP-OUTS for 2004/05 3.2% for 2005/06 3.6%


4.1.4.2 External Efficiency The Self-Completion Questionnaire to the “Managers” had asked them whether their

“schools” had a formal tracer system for finding out, every year, how many of their young

school leavers went into further education or into work, and, with regard to work, within

which sectors of employment had these school leavers gone in the past three years.

Admittedly, the probability of getting a job on leaving school may be influenced not only

by academic qualifications but also by a number of other factors, such as the demand for

labour, the recruitment requirements of employment organisations, and family

circumstances. The assumption in the present study was that employers valued young

school leavers’ educational attainments in Basic Education and in Pre-vocational education,

and that the success of the school leavers in getting into work/ employment was a good

indication of the effectiveness of their schools.

As Table 4.10 shows, on the evidence available, Gambia, Mali and Sénégal were the only

countries in the survey where there was an embryonic tracer system. Referring to Table

4.10, it is clear that the pattern of entry into the labour market in Sénégal, Mali and Gambia

was rather similar to the extent that the sectors of employment in which school leavers were

most likely to be employed were Agriculture, the Wholesale & Retail industry, the Social &

Recreational Services, the Personal Services, and others (such as Domestic work).

Table 4.10: The number of surveyed “schools” that had a formal tracer system in place

in Year 2007 and the destinations of young “school” leavers by Country and Employment sector

[Note: no “school” in Niger had a Tracer system N = the total number of surveyed “schools” n = the number of respondent schools in the respective category]

GAMBIA (N = 73)

MALI (N=21)

SENEGAL (N=41)

Madrassas (N=50)

QSCs (N=23)

Madrassas (N=12)

Madrassas & QSCs (N=41)

Sector of employment Rural (n=12)

Urban (n=12)

Rural (n=9)

Urban (n=4) Urban (n=4) Rural & Urban

Agriculture 9 10 9 2 2 6 Fishing 1 8 4 2 0 0 Manufacturing 9 3 9 0 0 0 Construction 10 7 8 0 0 0 Wholesale & Retail 8 10 9 3 1 18 Hotels & Restaurants 0 5 1 2 0 0 Transport, Storage & Communication 5 9 9 1 0 0

Public Administration & Defence 7 9 9 0 0 0

Social & Recreational Services 9 8 9 1 1 1

Personal Services 7 9 9 0 1 1 Other (e.g domestic work, self-employment) 0 3 0 0 1 1


However, a feature of the pattern was that in addition to the above destination, for students

in Mali many school leavers from one of the Madrassas were Self-employed, while in

Gambia both male and female school leavers were in Manufacturing, Construction and in

Public Administration & Defence,.

4.1.4.3 School Resources ___ the School Budget

The quantitative expansion of the sector inevitably raised questions about the running costs

for the “schools” and about how tight their budgets were. But given the limited resources

for this project and the variety of relevant data sources to be consulted, it was impossible to

look at such matters ___ let alone the methods of financial control in place, the degree of

freedom in educational expenditure that the “schools” possessed, and the cost-effectiveness

of the “schools”. Yet, internationally, the cost-effectiveness of educational systems has

been attracting a lot of attention for many years now (Penrose, 1993), and as far as the

National Education Systems in Africa are concerned, the ADEA’s (2006) Biennial meeting

of African ministers of Education had deliberated the issue of the ways in which resources

should be invested in factors that are the most cost-effective in terms of their impact on

learning outcomes. It therefore seemed necessary for the present study to obtain at least

some indication of the financial aspects of the schools’ educational provision. This line of

reasoning boiled down to questioning the “Managers” about:

(a) the fees that the “schools” charged for each student group,

(b) the extent to which the “schools” were supported financially by various

bodies and individual donations.

(c) the ratio of the “school” fees to the running budget (irrespective of the

composition of the budget, the quality of programme delivery, the

rural/urban location of the “schools”, and their designation as Madrassas or

other Quranic Schooling Centres)

An important finding from the Managers’ completed SCQs was that the school fees at the

surveyed “schools” varied a great deal across Grades/ Levels and “School” Locations

(Rural/Urban) within each country. It was difficult to summarise these variations but the

following extract from Niger’s country report gives some idea of the variability:

Student Group

3-6 yr olds

7-12 yr olds

13-16 yr olds

17-19 yr olds

Out-of school youth

Adults Women’s groups

Other student groups

Range of “School” fees per month, per student

100-400 100-5,000 100-5,000 100-2,800 20-400 100-400 100-500 100-200

No. of respondent “schools” (N = 49)

14 23 22 17 24 11 15 4

[Note: the currency is the CFA; Key: N= the number of sampled “schools” in Niger]


The ratio of “school” fees to running budget was subjected to a cross-country analysis

and Table 4.11 summarises the results for Gambia, Niger and Sénégal. The relevant data

for Mali were unavailable. The table shows that outside the Gambian Madrassas, the

number of respondent “schools” in each country was too small for deciding the statistical

significance of the results. Nevertheless, looking at the Average ratios across Gambia

and Niger and using them as indicators of the schools’ dependence on the “school fees”

for financial support, it transpired that both the Madrassas and the other QSCs in Niger

were the most dependent and the QSCs in Gambia the least; and turning to the range of

ratios in these two countries, it can be seen that the ratios cluster together more in

Gambia’s QSCs than in Niger’s. As a matter of fact, extreme ratios of “school” fees to

running budget were evident in three urban QSCs in Niger, one of which was a private

institution with the highest ratio (of 200%) and seemed to have only recently sprung into

action ____ and enrolled 650 students (200males and 450 females) in the year 2005/06.

The two other outlying QSCs were also privately owned, but had ratios of only 1% each.

Between them these three QSCs revealed the striking diversity of financial support.

Thus, at one extreme there was the QSC with the highest ratio and with no financial

support from anybody. At the other extreme, there were these two outliers one of which

was supported financially by an unnamed national NGO and an international funding

agency.

Table 4.11: The Average Ratio of “School” Fees to Running Budget by

School Designation, School Year and Country

Ratio of School Fees to Running Budget GAMBIA NIGER SÉNÉGAL School Designation M

(N=50) Q

(N=23) M

(N=15) Q

(N=34) M

(N=28) Q

(N=13) School Year 2004/05

Maximum 102% 50% 100% 200% 100% 40% Minimum 30% 30% 60% 1% 30% 15%

Average 64.13% 39.59% 90.00% 71.23% N/A N/A (n=33) (n=8) (n=4) (n=13) School Year 2005/06

Maximum 99% 50% 100% 100% 100% 50% Minimum 33% 30% 60% 2% 50% 20%

Average 62.66% 38.96% 90.00% 65.50% N/A N/A (n=33) (n=8) (n=4) (n=13)

[Key: N= the size of the survey sample; n= the relevant number of respondent “schools” M stands for the Designation Madrassa; Q stands for the Designation Other Quranic Schooling Centres N/A = Not Available]

4.1.5 School Management

4.1.5.1 School Governance

Issues of school effectiveness and of school efficiency are continually addressed by School

Management Committees, and the accountability for the management of schools normally


rests with the School Governing Bodies. However, in the limited time allocated for the

present study, there was no question of looking into the accountability framework for the

surveyed “schools” or into the accountability chain at the institutional level. All that could

be done was to establish whether there was a non-executive, consultative body (such as a

Governing Council or equivalent) in authority at each “school” and, if so, the extent of the

representation of the stakeholders (such as the wider local Community, including the

employment interests), and the size and gender composition of the Governing Council. Of

course, size by itself may not be an over-riding factor in the effectiveness of a Governing

Council but the assumption was that size may reflect how the balance of the represented

interests is perceived locally. Another assumption was that Governing Councils give

strategic and operational direction to schools. However, it was not within the scope of the

study to collect data about the nature of the management function that governing bodies

exercise.

■ The Size of Governing Councils

Table 4.12 draws together the evidence about Governing Councils. The number of

institutions that had a consultative body varied across the countries from 36% (n=41) in

Sénégal (not shown in the table), to 81% (n=73) in Gambia. Seemingly, their composition

is not standardised There was evidence of striking differences in the size of the Governing

Councils across countries and between “schools” of similar size within the same country.

In Niger, for example, the Governing Council of a large Government Madrassa was made

up of only 5 members, in stark contrast to the Governing Council of a similarly large CES

with a membership of 22. The contrast was even more marked in the case of a Gambian

Madrassa of medium size that had 80 members on its Governing Council.

Table 4.12: The Average size of Governing Councils by Country, in Year 2007

GAMBIA MALI NIGER Madrassas (N=50) Madrassas (N=12) Madrassas (N=15)

Maximum = 80 Maximum = 15 Maximum = 22 Average (n=46) = 15 Average (n=11) = 9 Average (n=13) = 11 Size of

Councils Minimum = 3 Minimum = 3 Minimum = 5 No. of All Female 0 No. of All Female 0 No. of All Female 0

No. of All Male 9 No. of All Male 10 No. of All Male 2 Gender

Make-up of Councils Average GR for others 0.50 Average GR for others 2.00 Average GR for others 0.43

QSCs (N=23) QSCs (N=9) QSCs (N=34)

Maximum = 35 Maximum = 10 Maximum = 32 Average (n=13) = 9 Average (n= 3) = 7 Average (n=14) = 8 Size of

Councils Minimum = 3 Minimum = 2 Minimum = 16 No. of All Female 0 No. of All Female 0 No. of All Female 4

No. of All Male 3 No. of All Male 2 No. of All Male 6 Gender

Make-up of Councils Average GR for others 0.21 Average GR for others 1.00 Average GR for others 0.68

[Key: N= the size of the survey sample; n= the relevant number of respondent “schools”; GR=Gender Ratio (that is, the ratio of the number of Female Council Members to the number

of Male Council members)]


■ The Gender Composition of Governing Councils

Wide variations in the Gender Composition of the Governing Councils for the Madrassas

were also in evidence. The sample of respondent QSCs in Mali was too small for

comments, whilst in Niger, the Gender Ratio (GR) for the Councils was, on average, 0.43

(see Table 4.12) thus showing that overwhelmingly the Councils were male dominated.

However, there was one female-dominated Council (with 5 male members and 7 female

members) for a Madrassa which recruited some 400 male and female students in almost

equal numbers. As in Gambia and Mali, there was no “all female” Council, but there were

two “all male” Councils

Turning next to the other Quranic Schooling Centres (QSCs) in Niger, the general thrust of

the data was that only 14 (41%; n=34) of the centres were under the authority of a

Governing Council, and that 10 of these Councils were single sex (six with an all male

membership and 4 with an all female membership), although the Centres themselves were

not necessarily single sex.

■ The Stakeholders’ representation on Governing Councils

The next step in the analysis was to focus on the range of organisations represented on the

Governing Councils (by co-option or otherwise). It was taken for granted that the

promoters of this sector of the Islamic Education system (such as the “school”

administrators, the teachers, and the other professionals in Islamic Education) were

represented. The question was whether other stakeholders, such as Parents, Community

leaders and local Government (that is, the wider community) were adequately represented.

Based on the sample of “schools” surveyed, it was clear that the participation of the wider

local communities in the work of the Governing Councils was much valued in Mali and in

Gambia as around 60% to 65% of the respondent “schools” claimed to have mobilised such

participation. A rather different picture emerged from Niger and from Sénégal, with the

wider community’s participation on the Governing Councils in Niger reported in only three

Madrassas and one QSC, and in Sénégal in only eight of the urban institutions — though in

five of the six rural institutions.

■ The representation of parents on Governing Councils

A finding worth noting too was that one section of the wider local community (namely,

Parents) had secured representation on the Governing Councils of around two-thirds of the

“schools” across the surveyed countries ___ indeed, on all the Madrassas in Niger, though

on only one QSC. Regrettably, the level and effectiveness of parental engagement (through

such community participation) were not the subject of further questioning but what these

figures indicate is that it is likely that Parents will have had a sense of ownership of the

“school” activities.


■ The representation of local employers on Governing Councils

Another consideration was that many parents are well aware that without educational

credentials their children may be deprived access to further education and may become

unemployed on leaving school or remain in unskilled employment throughout their lives.

The present study took therefore into account the notion that it was important for schools,

in general, to get to know local and national employers’ expectations of the pre-vocational

education and training which was provided at the threshold of employability, and hence to

involve employers in schooling matters through their membership of schools’ Governing

Councils.. The responses of the sampled “schools” on this point showed that there was

scant representation of the local Business communities on the Governing Councils in the

francophone countries __ indeed none on the Councils for Niger’s QSCs and on those for

the urban Sénégalese institutions. In Gambia, 19 of its 50 Madrassas did have

representatives of the local Business Community on their Governing Councils __ but only

one of its 23 other QSCs had such representation on its Governing Council. Importantly

too, a few institutions in Gambia, Niger and Sénégal had established professional links with

local Employment Agencies, and these links were to be found in a variety of institutions,

for example, in a rural Community Madrassa as well as in an urban Private QSC in

Sénégal, and in a Government, rural Madrassa in Niger.

■ The representation of Islamic Scholars on Governing Councils

Yet another consideration was the representation of Islamic scholars on the Governing

Councils. The presumption was that the surveyed Madrassas and other QSCs were faith

schools and that the curriculum content was largely a matter of tradition __ albeit a tradition

rooted in the Islamic way of life. Consequently, it was likely that Islamic Scholars would

be serving on the Governing Councils of these institutions and ensuring the communication

of this view of life.

The reported data in Table 4.13 show that Islamic Scholars sat on the Governing Councils

of almost all the Madrassas in Mali and in Gambia, and in 53% of the Madrassas in Niger,

independently of their types and locations. However, Table 4.13 presents a different

picture for the other QSCs with a lesser representation of Islamic Scholars in Niger (29%;

n=34) and in Gambia (56%; n=23) but not in Mali where they sit on the Governing

Councils of all the QSCs.

4.1.5.2 The “School” Managers

But while the present study emphasised community-level participation in the Governance

of local Madrassas and other QSCs, it also recognised that the day-to-day management of

schools, in general, can influence the conditions for learning at school and that the demands


Table 4.13: The number of “School” Governing Councils

on which Islamic scholars were represented by Type of “school”, Location of “school”, and Country, in Year 2007

[Key: N= the size of the survey sample; n= the relevant number of respondent “schools”]

GAMBIA MALI NIGER No. of “School” Governing Councils with representation of Islamic Scholars

Type of School In Rural areas

In Urban areas In Rural

areas In Urban

areas In Rural areas

In Urban areas

Madrassas (N=50) (n) Madrassas (N=12) (n) Madrassas (N=15) (n)

Privately–owned 8 14 23 4 6 11 - 4 5 Community 13 11 26 1 0 1 - - 0 Government - - 0 - - 0 2 2 9 Other - 1 1 0 0 QSCs (N=23) (n) QSCs (N=9) (n) QSCs (N=34) (n)

Privately–owned 2 7 17 4 4 8 2 6 9 Community 2 2 6 - - - - 0 Government - - 0 - - - - 0 Other - - 0 0 1 1 8 8 22

on Headteachers are “moving beyond the traditional administrator responsibilities” and

include instructional and transformational school leadership responsibilities” (Verspoor,

2004). Indeed, a recent research finding in Gambia was that a Primary/Lower Basic school

in the State system was likely to be “less effective” if it was characterised by a

Headteacher who took much time on official business liaising with officials, interest groups

and businesses in the local community and by a Parent-Teacher Association that looked

after the physical plant of the school rather than at the academic work of the school

(ERNWACA, 2002). Be this as it may, studies of schooling in Africa have pointed to a

deficiency of managerial and administrative skills in schools (Chapman, 1997; Samoff,

1996), while CONFEMEN (2006)’s “new vision” of national Education Systems has

identified school management as an “essential condition” for improving these systems, and

resolved that a priority for achieving such improvement was the professionalisation of the

management staff at all levels (along with the promotion of “good governorship” for the

systems). Consequently, the present study looked at the professional profiles of the

“Managers” of the surveyed “schools” in the sector. It was taken for granted that these

Managers’ personal relationships with local community leaders and Education officials

were of considerable value, and that their active participation in implementing innovative

educational ideas and practices was essential __ as was their effectiveness in

communicating school-relevant information to students, teachers, governing bodies, and

other stakeholders.

■ The School Managers’ professional backgrounds

Table 4.14 summarises some aspects of the professional profiles obtained from the Self-

Completion Questionnaire for the sample of “Managers”. For the sake of simplicity the

table shows only the number of professionally qualified and experienced “Managers”.


Table 4.14: The Personal Backgrounds of the Professionally Qualified “School” Managers by

Gender, Years of Professional Experience, and Country, in Year 2007 [Note: • the term Managers here stands for the Headteachers, Principals, and Managers (as such) of the

surveyed “schools”. • the bold numbers in the cells show the number of Professionally Qualified Managers in each

category, as a result of their three-way classification • there were no female Managers in the sampled “schools” in Mali and Sénégal

Key: * this term refers here only to those who hold a Professional Qualification in Education as a subject area (that is, to those who possess a Certificate/ Diploma/ Degree in Education)

** this term refers here only to experience as Teacher/ Manager/ Headteacher/ Principal in Madrassas or other QSCs

N = number of surveyed “schools”; n=total number of respondent Managers in that category]

GAMBIA NIGER No. of Professionally Qualified* Managers with

Years of Professional Experience ** No. of Professionally Qualified* Managers

with Years of Professional Experience ** Gender Less than

3 years 3 to 15 years More than 15 years Gender Less than

3 years 3 to 15 years

More than 15 years

(n=5) (n=22) (n=18) (n=2) (n=7) (n=5) Male

(n=36) 3 18 15 Male (n=14) 2 7 5

Female (n=1) 0 1 0- Female

(n=0 ) 0 0 0 Mad

rass

as

(N=5

0)

Sub-total 3 19 15

Mad

rass

as

(N=1

5)

Sub-total 2 7 5

(n=3) (n=8) (n=10) (n=2) (n=14) (n=16) Male

(n=19) 2 7 10 Male (n=2) 0 2 0

Female (n=1) 0 1 0 Female

(n=6) 2 4 0 QSC

s (N

=23)

Sub-total 2 8 10

QSC

s (N

=34)

Sub-total 2 6 0 MALI SÉNÉGAL

No. of Professionally Qualified* Managers with Years of Professional Experience **

No. of Professionally Qualified* Managers with Years of Professional Experience **

Gender Less than 3 years

3 to 15 years

More than 15 years Gender Less than


More than 15 years

(n=3) (n=6) (n=3) (n=2) (n=23) (n=1) Male

(n= 3) 0 2 1 Male (n=4) 0 4 0 M

adra

ssas

(N

=12)

total 0 2 1 Mad

rass

as

(N=2

8)

total 0 4 0 (n=1) (n=4) (n=4) (n=1) (n=3) (n=9)

Male (n=2) 0 0 2 Male

(n=7) 0 1 6

QSC

s

(N=9

)

total 0 0 2

QSC

s (N

=13)

total 0 5 6

Mali and Sénégal stand out as the countries in this study with the lowest proportions of

professionally qualified and experienced “Managers” in charge of Madrassas and other

QSCs respectively— and all of them males in both countries!.

Niger presents a perplexing picture of the management of the QSCs other than Madrassas

with only 23.5% (n=34) of the “Managers” being professionally qualified and experienced,

and indeed with the majority (62%; n=34) view among them that the notion of a

professional qualification in Education (for “Managers”) was “not applicable” in their


contexts. However, a redeeming feature of their professional profiles was that many among

them had attended academic or professional courses/ workshops that were relevant to their

present positions at their “schools”, such as courses/ workshops on School Management,

Teaching Methods, and Curriculum Development, respectively. Moreover, the

management of the vast majority (93%; n=15) of Niger’s Madrassas was in experienced

hands, as was the management of the Gambian Madrassas and other QSCs, with 74%

(n=50) of the former and 87% (n=23) of the latter being managed by appropriately qualified

staff.

Disaggregating the number of professionally qualified “Managers” by Gender and length of

Professional Experience (as in Table 4.14) displayed the gender bias in the management of

the “schools” in the sector, with predominantly male managers with at least three years of

Professional Experience at the head of the Madrassas in Gambia, Mali and Niger ____ and

at the head of the other QSCs too, except for the women “managers” of Niger’s QSCs.

4.1.5.3 The “School” teachers

As a broad generalisation, there are many challenging issues about school teaching in

developing countries and there is no shortage of ideas about the recruitment and initial

training of school teachers for the State Education Systems and about their continuing

professional development (Dembélé, 2004; Verspoor, 2004); and initiatives such as the

reform of the pre-service training in Guinée, the in-service Teacher Development and

Management System in Uganda, the massive recruitment of “contract teachers” in Niger,

and the Projet d’école in Sénégal, have been the subject of considerable interest (Dembélé,

2004; Duret and Bernard, 2004). Hence, in the Self-Completion Questionnaire for the

“Managers”, one of the questions put to them centred on the number of professionally

qualified teachers employed at their “schools” and on the continuing professional

development of their teachers.

Table 4.15 shows the high proportion of Professionally qualified, male and female, full-

time teachers in Mali and in Niger as well as the relatively small proportion in Gambia. The

table is also of interest because of the disproportionately small number of women teachers

in this sector of the Islamic Education system and because it would suggest that such

gender imbalance in the appointment of teachers in the sector could be a built-in systemic

“problem”.

It is possible to explore further the tabulated data and determine the average number of

professionally qualified teachers per “school”, but the result would be meaningless given,

on the one hand, the extent of personalised learning and of one-to-one tuition and, on the

other hand, the relatively large size of the teaching force in the larger institutions, such as a


private, urban, Madrassa in Gambia with an enrolment upwards of two thousand students,

and a teaching staff establishment of some 80 teachers, or a Government, urban, Franco-

Arab, Madrassa in Niger with as many as 40 professionally qualified, full-time teachers.

Table 4.15:

The proportion of Professionally Qualified, Full-Time, “School” teachers by School Designation, Gender and Country, in Year 2007

[Note: As used here, the term “Professionally Qualified” means having a College or University Certificate/Diploma or Degree in Education.

Key: M = Madrassas; Q = other Quranic Schooling Centres N = number of surveyed “schools”; n= number of respondent schools; ]

GAMBIA (N=73)

MALI (N=21)

NIGER (N=49)

Gender (n=65 ) Gender (n=21) Gender (n=38)Full-Time (FT)teachers in

Madrassas and other QSCs male female male female male female

Number of (FT) Qualified M 240 29 159 23 153 97

“school” teachers Q 71 2 31 0 65 24

Number of (FT) Unqualified M 281 66 2 4 20 1

“school”teachers Q 121 1 0 0 9 1

TOTAL number of (FT) teachers M 521 95 161 27 173 98

Q 193 3 31 0 74 25

GRAND TOTAL 714 98 192 27 247 123

Percentage of Qualified M 46% 31% 99% 85% 88% 99%

“school” teachers Q 37% 67% 100% 0% 88% 96%

■ The Continuing professional development of the “school” teachers

Turning to the continuing professional development of teachers in the sector, even a quick

glance at Table 4.16 shows that those in the QSCs were at a disadvantage with regard to

obtaining sponsorships in order to attend relevant staff development courses/ workshops in

recent years. Nonetheless, the table highlights the fact that limited opportunities for such

sponsorships exist for teachers from Community “schools”, Privately-owned “schools” and

Government “schools”.

The table provides evidence too of teachers attending In-house, School-based,

courses/workshops rather than College-based ones (albeit, in small numbers). However,

what the table does not show is the considerable variation across the countries and across

the “schools” in the number of their teachers who attended courses/ workshops particularly

In-House, School-based courses. For example, in the past three years 10 Private Madrassas

in Mali had sponsored a total of 147 teachers on In-House-based courses; while 5 Private

Madrassas in Gambia had sponsored 123 teachers. Also, the “Manager” of a Madrassa in

Mali claimed that as many as 90 teachers in the last three years, had attended such


courses/workshops whereas during the same period the other Madrassas had released only

between one to ten teachers, for such courses.

Table 4.16: The number of “Schools” that

sponsored Staff Development courses/workshops for teachers by Type of “school”, Type of course, School Designation and Country, in Year 2007

[Note: the Quranic Schooling Centres other than Madrassas did not sponsor Staff development except in Gambia

Key: N = the number of surveyed “schools”; n = the total number of respondent “schools”]

GAMBIA NIGER

The number of “schools” that sponsored their teachers The number of “schools” that

sponsored their teachers

Type of School

on College of Education-

based courses

on In-House School-based

courses Type of

School

on College of Education-

based courses

on In-House School-based

courses Privately–

owned (n=23) 3 (13%) 5 (22%) Privately–owned (n=5) 0 0

Community(n=26) 6 (23%) 8 (31%) Community

(n=0) 0 0

Mad

rass

as

(N=5

0)

Government (n=0) 0 0 M

adra

ssas

(N

=15)

Government

(n=10) 0 4 (40 %)

Privately–owned (n=17) 0 2 (12%) Privately–

owned (n=11) 0 0

QSC

s (N

=23)

Community (n=6) 1 (17%) 1 (17%) Q

SCs

(N=3

4)

Government (n=0) 0 0

Government (n=0) 0 0 Other

(n=23) 0 0

MALI SÉNÉGAL Privately–

owned (n=11) 0 10 (91%) Privately–owned (n=18) 2 (11%) 8 (44%)

Community (n=1) 0 0 Community

(n=5) 1 (14%) 4 (80%)

Government (n=0) 0 0 Government

(n= 2) 0 0

Mad

rass

as

(N=1

2)

Other (n=0) 0 0

Mad

rass

as

(N=2

8)

Other (n= 2) 0 2 (100%)

4.1.5.4 The School –Community link

That schools are not an integral part of community life in many parts of Africa, especially

in the rural areas (USAID, no date), is a moot point. Nevertheless, as already indicated, the

present study took on board the idea that partnerships between schools and their local

communities (through, for example, community leaders’ membership of school Governing

Councils) are of crucial importance for making an education system work. In addition, the

study attempted to flesh out the “schools”’ commitment to their local communities by

asking the “school” Managers how their institutions were responding to community needs

(through, for example, the provision of community facilities, and of housing for teachers)

and how they monitored their relationships with their local communities.

On the evidence available from the study, what came to light was a picture of a very

diversified provision of facilities, services and programmes for local communities on the


part of the surveyed “schools” (see Table 4.17). To be specific, a striking finding was that

the Sénégalese Madrassas focused on programmes for Poverty Alleviation and ICT, in stark

contrast to their opposite numbers in Mali where the focus was on the provision of

Counselling Services and of Teachers’ living accommodation. However, this pattern of

narrowly delineated provision was different from that found in Gambia and in Niger. The

former had established a comprehensive array of “School-Community” partnerships for

meeting the needs of local communities; and in the latter there was evidence of a wide

range of burgeoning partnerships, such as the partnership of a rural Quranic Schooling

Centre which offered a whole gamut of facilities, services and programmes to the local

community, whilst providing specialised educational programmes for Out-of-school Youth

groups and Non-Formal Adult Education groups.

A closer look at Table 4.17 shows that the relatively high percentage (48%, n=27) of

Madrassas that offered ICT services in Sénégal contrasted sharply with the complete

absence of any such offer in Mali either in its Madrassas or in its other QSCs. On the other

hand, Mali’s offer of Counselling Services in almost the entire sample of its “schools”

(95%; n=21) was not matched by the other countries, although Gambia’s offer of

Counselling Services in 82% (n=73) of all its “schools” was relatively substantial; and these

services could include “serving as mediators to solve problems”, advising about “matters

on the advancement of the children”, “organising conferences for community members”

and undertaking “house to house preaching”(as a Principal of a rural Community school for

the 7 to 16 year olds put it).

This closer look at Table 4.17 revealed also that Mali and Gambia were the two countries

with the largest proportions of their Madrassas offering their Sports facilities to their local

communities; and that the Gambian “schools” outperformed by far their counterparts in the

other three countries with their Awareness Raising campaigns about Gender Equity.

Indeed, the finding that only small proportions of “schools” in Sénégal (5%; n=41) and in

Niger (8%; N=49) undertake such campaigns is puzzling, in view of the remarkable

increase in the Gender Ratio for student enrolment in the Year 2005/06 in these two

countries (see Section 4.1.2.1).

On the issue of how the targeted institutions monitored their relationships with their local

communities, there was evidence of a clear preference across the four countries for

informal, individual meetings with stakeholders (rather than for surveys of the local

Communities’ views), with the Madrassas in Niger and in Gambia displaying the largest

proportions of institutions favouring this particular strategy: (60% in Niger and 74% in

Gambia). A few institutions used both methods and indeed even a third one, namely, the

feedback from their former students.


Table 4.17: The number of surveyed “schools” that provided for Community Needs by

School Designation, School Location and Country, in Year 2007 [Note: The term “School Provision” refers to the facilities, services and programmes that the “schools”

offered to the local communities in addition to the Islamic education for the sector. Key: N = number of “schools” in the survey sample; n= number of respondent “schools” in that

category; ]

The Gambia Niger “Schools” Location Total “Schools” Location Total

Provision Rural (n=24)

Urban (n=26) (n=50) Provision Rural

(n=4) Urban (n=11) (n=15)

Counselling Services 21 26 47 Counselling Services 1 1 2 Poverty Alleviation Programmes 21 17 38 Poverty Alleviation

Programmes 1 1 2

Awareness raising campaigns about gender equity

22 22 44 Awareness raising campaigns about gender equity

1 1 2

ICT services 9 9 18 ICT services 0 1 1 Sports facilities 3 8 11 Sports facilities 0 1 1 M

adra

ssas

(N

=50

)

Teachers’ living accommodation 4 6 10

Mad

rass

as (

N=1

5)


“Schools” Location Total “Schools” Location Total



(n=14) Urban (n=17) (n=31)


Programmes 2 4 6



2 0 2

ICT services 2 0 2 ICT services 3 1 4 Sports facilities 1 0 1 Sports facilities 1 0 1

QSC

s (N

=23)


QSC

s

(N=3

4)


Mali Senegal “Schools” Location Total “Schools” Location Total



(n=5) Urban (n=23 ) (n= 28)


Programmes 4 15 19



1 1 2

ICT services 0 0 0 ICT services 3 10 13 Sports facilities 2 2 4 Sports facilities 0 0 0 M

adra

ssas

(N

=12

)


Mad

rass

as (

N =

28)


“Schools” Location Total “Schools” Location Total



(n=1 ) Urban (n=12 ) (n=13)


Programmes 1 1 2



1 1 2

ICT services 0 0 0 ICT services 0 0 0 Sports facilities 0 0 0 Sports facilities 0 0 0

QSC

s

(N=9

)


QSC

s

(N=1

3)



4.2 PART B: the findings of the qualitative research

The design of the study on Madrassas and other Quranic Schooling Centres included

interviews with Managers, supervisors and teachers. A total of 144 interviews were

organized in The Gambia, Niger and Senegal. 23 of the interviewees were supervisors and

the remaining ones were teachers and Managers. The topics discussed included (i)

educational policy and curriculum development, (ii) management of Islamic education, (iii)

funding, (iv) the quality of education, (v) school budget, and (vi) organizational culture.

In Niger nine supervisors and eighty seven Headteachers and teachers were interviewed

whereas the Senegalese research team interviewed 18 Headteachers, and in The Gambia

sixteen teachers and fourteen managers participated in the interviews. The issues discussed

are dealt with below.

4.2.1. Educational policy and curriculum development

The policy of the schools is aimed at reinforcing Islamic education – 8 out of 9

supervisors and 55 over 87 teachers in Niger, and managers use advocacy to attain their

goal. Despite the strong social basis of QSCs, governments do not support them enough;

their contribution is limited to funding bilingual schools and granting permission to the

private promoters. The operational personnel share the same views. Senegalese

promoters pursue the teaching of The Holy Koran with the development of job skills.

They adhere, therefore, to offering opportunities for income generating activities in their

programs.

In The Gambia and in Niger, interviewees from Madrassas say that the main educational

aim of the “Schools” is to build an effective citizenship whereas those from the QSCs see

it as teaching the Holy Koran in order to have learners memorize all the verses. It is

worth mentioning that in Niger, a few schools train their students to read fluently the

Holy text without memorizing it. However, they both share the same view about the

policy goals of promoting Islamic Education and facilitating access to literacy. In

Senegal, the curriculum aims at teaching the Arabic and French languages simultaneously

with literacy in the local language. Recently, some schools developed a skills component

in their curriculum which allows a few leavers to start their professional practices.

The process of curriculum development is not participative according to the respondents

from all the countries. In fact, teachers indicated that they had no knowledge of the

concept of the curriculum because most of them did not participate in its design. Despite

the non participative nature of the process, Gambian respondents are of the view that the

curriculum is relevant to the needs of the well-educated workforce in the country.


Though most students do not give due attention to the literacy program, teachers agree

that it helps learners develop self-directedness, become more economically active and

contribute to the development of their community. The interviewees in Niger believe that

the curriculum is not pertinent even though a small number of them claim that it is

adequate for rural and urban life styles of social integration and for the pursuit of

education. These positive views on the curriculum come up also in the Senegalese

interviews.

The Madrassas and QSCs sampled in The Gambia, except one, do not offer vocational

training essentially because of lack of resources. In fact, interviewees indicated that their

schools are interested in introducing vocational training and technical education in their

curriculum but their funding does not allow them to acquire the necessary tools,

equipment and qualified teachers. This is an emerging trend in Senegal where the only

choice given to the leavers of QSCs used to be the teaching of the Koran.

4.2.2. Islamic education management

It appears from Niger’s case study that 55 interviewees (63.21%) think that the

Government doesn’t support Islamic education. Those who responded positively

(22.68%) based their opinion on the availability of public funding for Islamic education

via bilingual schools. Preaching and sensitization, through interpersonal communication

or by way of the media, are the main means used to promote the programs. The

Senegalese study gives the same picture as all respondents say that the government does

not fund Islamic education. Quranic schools are accessible to all, poor and rich, men and

women, children and adults.

Gambian Islamic education managers organize annual public reading of the Holy Koran

and conferences to promote their programs, yet a few of them do it through personal

contacts. The sample is divided with regard to recruitment approach with one half

advocating the market driven approach and the other half believing that the Islamic

Education Authority has a duty to provide strong direction if not a national curriculum.

4.2.3. Monitoring and evaluation

Niger’s QSCs and Madrassas lack archives or do not have good archival systems so that

monitoring is sketchy. With this in the mind, interviewees from the sampled schools

indicated that 534 including 153 girls (28.65%) and 381 boys (71.35%) completed their

schooling successfully.


Gambian students learn more than one subject but the most popular ones are Islamic

studies -- Hadith, Tawhid and Fiq. There is no common examination for Madrasas or

QSCs, consequently, each school sets its evaluation standards. As a result, the indicators

on quality are not reliable. 69% of the teachers rate teaching – learning facilities as

satisfactory, but a significant number believe that the environment is not conducive to

learning as students are often times too numerous in inadequately furnished classes.

In Senegal, annual gatherings at the closure of classes are used as means of identifying

good students finishing their cycle who can be recruited as teachers. The annual Koran

recitation contests serve also as amechanism of public relations for the schools, as parents

and potential sponsors are usually invited. One school organizes written evaluations per

semester to document the performance of the students. The study documented the

existence of archives and yearbooks, as well as a repetition rate of 7 to 14%. Eighty per

cent of the students complete their cycle.

4.2.4. School running budget

In Niger, 67% of the supervisors and 69% of the teachers say that parents look after their

children and assure the current running of the schools through fee payment. 9% of the

promoters of Quranic schools take care of their students while government gives

subsistence allowances according to 3% of the interviewees. Learners from two schools

take care of themselves by way of begging or work during their free time. According to

49% of the respondents, communities do not support schools against 6% which do take

full charge of theirs schools. The little help from communities occurs during special

events such as end of year festivities and through their participation in management

committees.

The Senegalese study indicates that private sponsors and non-governmental organizations

provide more than 10% of the running budget of some schools. The remaining moneys

are collected through fee payment either by the students themselves — income generated

from begging or from parents. A small minority of schools rear poultry to make money.

There are day schools as well as boarding schools.

The development of opportunities for the students depends a lot on the availability of

funding, a condition missing in most Madrassas and QSCs as indicated by the few figures

about the budget given by the interviewees. The Senegalese team mentioned assistance

from a very small number of municipalities.


4.2.5. Organizational culture

Interview data in Niger indicates that the cultural heritage of Islamic authorities and the

view of education as a social change factor are the key value on which schools evolve.

These philosophical bases are supported by the personnel as suggested by their

commitment to achieving the objectives of the schools and making sure that the rules are

applied. In addition to this, teachers and Headteachers talk to misbehaving students in

order to have them amend their behaviour. Sanctions intervene in case of refusal. This

good practice is not the rule in most schools which punish first — whipping and

assignment of chores — and talk only when it does not work.

Senegalese schools have rules and a personnel motivated by religious faith. Despite the

irregularity of pay, the personnel show up at the schools even on holidays, as most of

them expect their reward from God.

4.3 Overview of the case studies

The Case Studies covered:

(i) The whole “School” including its curriculum, history and current context ;

(ii) All the processes and practices that characterise the school.

(iii) The rationale for the employment of these processes and the procedures so that it

reflects the trends in schooling in general.

The two Case Studies were to proceed on the assumption that in “the school” the observed

system of Islamic Education was making an effective contribution to the provision of Non-

Formal education for marginalized communities and of Education For All.

4.3.1. Gambia

The Gambia team selected the two cases based on the contrast in their institutional

policies, processes and practices as observed during data collection. Case Study No1 dealt

with Saad Bin Musaid Quranic Memorization Centre established on the18th March 1994

by Oustas Amadou Saho. The stated aims are to (i) help pupils strengthen their religious

faith through the memorization of the verses of the Holy Koran, (ii) instil discipline in the

pupils and (iii) engage learners in the observance of The Prophet’s practices and

traditions. The second field of the case studies is the Tallinding Islamic Institute

established in 1963 as part of the Gambian Islamic Union. The initiator, Alhaji

Mahammedan Lamin Ceesay, was educator and a benevolent Islamic Scholar from Kiang

Tunkular in Lower River Region (LRR). The institute houses the Headquarters of the

Gambian Islamic Union. Its main objectives are to:

(a) Spread Islamic Education in order to strengthen the Islamic faith.

(b) Improve literacy levels in the country.


The two institutions pursue similar objectives despite the fact that they differ in their

curricular offerings. Tallinding Islamic Institute follows the unified curriculum whereas

Saad Bin Musaid Memorization Centre which operates in the Non-Formal sector follows

the traditional system of learning.

4.3.2. Mali

Two Case Studies were conducted: one of a bilingual school (Madrassa) and one of a

Quranic school, both in Touba.

The Madrassa Dar al Koran wal Hadith (House of Koran and Hadith) is a private Islamic

school created in 1959 by Mohamed Abdoulkadir Doucouré and managed by a council of

12 persons all members of the Dar al Koran wal Hadith association. The teaching

personnel are comprised of 92 men and women recruited by tests, written and oral. The

administrative staff is made of 22 persons posted in compliance with official rules

regarding private schools. The school has three levels, that is, foundation Basic

Education with 1,581 students, 492 of whom are girls; Basic Secondary Education with

570 students (including 51 girls), and General Secondary Education with 290 students —

all boys. The infrastructure includes 61 classrooms built with concrete, housing for

teachers, dormitories for the students, a library, a health centre, a mosque, meeting rooms,

computer rooms, and a radio station.

In the year 2006/07, 315 students sat for the examination at the end of the 6th year and

201 passed it while 92 sat for the examination at the end of the 9th year, and 73 passed it.

The school takes part in all cultural and sportive activities organized by the services of the

Department of State for Education. School fees range from 1,250F CFA for Basic

Education and for Koran Memorization Centres to 1,500 F CFA for the General

Secondary Education.

In addition to the teaching activities, the school runs an orphanage which hosts 591

children and builds mosques and fountains in needy villages. These programs are

sponsored by the Kuwait Zakhat foundation.

The second case study is about the Laye Mody Koran School. The student population is

310 including 78 girls, some are day students and others live in the school facilities. The

current director is Mouhamed Tawil. There are four learning sessions per day: these are

at dawn, early in the morning, in the afternoon, and at night. The program of study is

delivered in nine years which are divided between the Holy Koran and Islamic studies.


Seven teachers are in charge of teaching-learning the Koran on an individual basis and four

others teach non-religious subject matters. Students who complete the cycle may continue

their education in bilingual schools or establish themselves as Koran teachers. They are not

trained for that. The Laye Mody Koran School gets its resources from donations.

4.3.3. Niger

The first case study is about a private bilingual school located in a peripheral

neighbourhood of Niamey. Created in 1994 by Mr Sidibé, Tarbiatou al Islam is directed

by a 45 years old man who trained as teacher. The School Management Committee is

comprised of 16 persons including 6 women.

The classrooms are made of clay for lack of money to build them with concrete. This

means that the school does not offer the required learning conditions for its 168 students

(including 56 girls) who are divided in three multilevel and mixed sex classrooms. Eight

teachers – four francophone and four arabophone — are in charge of the students. The

Headteacher has more than 15 years of teaching experience and is assisted by 4 support

personnel. The school fees, of 2,000F CFA per month, do not cover the running charges.

The curriculum is similar to the official one. For the school year 2006/07, 12 students sat

the end of cycle examination and only four passed it. Despite the low school fees,

enrolment is small but given the socio-economic characteristics of the population

(farmers, workers in the informal sector and jobless people), the figures are

understandable. Teachers participate in continuing education programs organized by the

Department of State for Education or by NGOs.

The second case study is about the Bouko Quranic School in Diagoga. Established 90

years ago by Cheik Abdourahamane Kalilou, Bouko Quranic School has currently 142

students, (of who 41 are girls). Their age vary from 6 to 27 years, all from farming

families. Running charges are provided by local sponsors. Registration is free and

individual.

Classes are held according to the following schedule:

• 5h30 to 7h30

• 14h30 to 16h30;

• 19h30 to22h 30.

A 45 years old man trained in the same school has assured the teaching for the last 15

years. The Holy Koran and Islamic studies constitute the program of study. There is no

certification for ending the training but the memorization of the entire Koran is

celebrated. A successful student should be able to read and transcribe the Holy Koran by


heart and master the content of the main hadiths. Socially speaking, he or she can fit

easily in the economic life of the community.

4.3.4 Sénégal

The NDoulo Koran School, in the Diourbel area in Senegal, is a classical QSC aimed at

teaching the Holy Koran and Islamic traditions to a student population made up of people

aged from 3 to 25 years. With assistance from UNICEF, the Senegalese government

introduced French, Wolof and vocational training in order to diversify Basic Education

offerings. Parents choose to register their children in such schools

Mr Tandang has the sole person responsible for the running of the school even if he

associates some parents and teachers in decision making. The management is informal as

there are no archives nor any other document established for the sake of collecting

information on the students. The government does not give any financial assistance to the

promoter. Some women from the community provide daily food to a few learners as a

means of reducing begging and allowing them to have more time for learning. The

working hours are 6 to 9 in the morning for the younger students learning the Holy

Koran, from 10 to 12 for the senior learners engaged in Islamic studies, and from 3 pm

until sun set. During the rainy season, the daily schedule changes to fit with productive

activities.

The timetable is indicative as each student attends school at his or her convenience and

the teachers do not have a set time for each activity: they follow the rhythm of arrival of

the learners. Consequently, individual progress varies from one person to another.

The second Senegalese case study concerned a modern QSC in Pikine, a suburb of Dakar.

This school had been selected because of the profile of its manager the implementation of

innovative content, its suburban localization and the nature of the changes it has gone

through.

The school comprises a Quranic school and a Bilingual — French and Arabic — school.

The latter prepares students to move from Non-Formal to formal education. The Pikine

QSC together with the bilingual school is one of the pilot schools experimenting

trilingual teaching. Registration is voluntary from 3 to 30 years of age. The State does

not assist, financially speaking; the running budget — more or less 300,000F CFA — is

mobilized through fee payment and donations from sponsors within the network.


The student population is 150, including 62 girls, and is divided into classes similar to the

formal system. The curriculum is similar to that of the western type of schools and it is

implemented by trained teachers. A small number of students are supported by the school

— lodging, food and health — with the sponsorship of the religious association to which

it belongs. The personnel is committed to the philosophy of the school.

CHAPTER V:

DISCUSSION

The discussion in this chapter draws on the information obtained from the data collected during

the Baseline Survey, and also from the literature review and from the researchers’ knowledge of

the context.

5.1 Discussion of the quantitative research data

As already explained, the Baseline Survey was limited in investigating scope and

consequently there was no question of going over well-trodden ground in Education (that

is, on such issues as experiential learning, teaching style and Pre-service teacher-training).

As already explained too (see Chapter II), the whole group of Quranic Schooling Centres

(including the Madrassas) was conceptualised as together constituting the sector of Basic

Education and Non-Formal Education within the Islamic Education system.

Access to the “Schools”

Turning to the quantitative survey findings then, and starting with the issue of access to the

“schools”, the high proportion (63%; n=184) of Private “schools” in the achieved sample of

“schools” (see Table 4.1) raises questions but it is not known if this proportion reflects the

balance, nation-wide, between Private “schools”, Community “schools” and Government

“schools”, and it was not the intention in this study to make statistical generalisations from

the sample of “schools”. What can be said is that, such as it is, the evidence is that,

particularly in Mali and Senegal, the Private “schools” (and not the Community “schools”,

or the Government “schools, or the “schools” sponsored by other national or international

bodies) that are, on the whole, carrying forward the quantitative expansion in the sector —

although account must be taken of the respective contributions, in Sénégal, of national

bodies like the “Mouride” Brotherhood and of the pioneering work undertaken jointly by

the Sénégalese Government and UNICEF in connection with a novel type of Daaras (see

Sénégal’s Country Report).


Another consideration in relation to the Private “schools” was that their mushrooming

points to a need for the further development of policy with regard to education in the sector.

For although the growth in student enrolment is welcome, it raises questions about the

gender disparity (in the level of enrolment) and its link with the funding of the Private

schools and of the Community schools respectively, in view of the finding that across the

four countries a considerable number of such “schools” are having to cope with blatantly

insufficient financial resources (see Table 4.11). The point here is that the “schools” cost-

recovery approach entails charging school fees and these are a deterrent to schooling,

particularly with regard to girls’ access and retention at school (see Section 4.1.2.1), and

specially as, in the surveyed francophone countries, Awareness raising campaigns about

gender equity are minimal (see Table 4.17).

Of course, the availability of private education locally means that children’s parents/

guardians (and mature students) are able to purchase from competing educational offerings

in accordance with their means, and to exercise the right to withdraw their children (or

themselves, as mature students) from “school” as they wish. However, there is a question

about the quality of the educational provision because, from the evidence available, the

Private “schools” are subject to control by the appropriate Education authorities to only a

limited extent (see Table 4.5A). The question is particularly germane to the “schools”

which seem to be growing out of all proportion in size (see Section 4.1.2). Arguably, with

the market style mechanism in place and a publicly maintained system of control which is

probably under-resourced and is therefore unable to cope effectively with the present

expansion, the quality of education provided in the Private “schools” may be under threat.

But reconciling increasing access to “schools” with ensuring programme quality is not so

clear-cut, specially as “there may not be a common understanding of the term quality of

education” (Pigozzi, 2003), and that “as in the industrialised world, the path of quality

improvement in Sub-Saharan Africa has often been rocky and strewn with obstacles”

(Verspoor, 2003). However, there is a growing consensus that an education which,

amongst other things, imparts universal values is one of quality, and the present study

looked into the extent to which these aspects of quality underpinned the school curriculum

and the school management in the sector.

The Curriculum — the knowledge and skills components

Understandably, the surveyed “schools” were pursuing the traditional values of Islam.

However, the relatively high proportion of the total amount of time allocated weekly for

Islamic studies and for the study of the Arabic language (see Tables 4.5A and B) (and in

Gambia contrasting very much with the Government’s balanced curriculum) raises

questions about such a skewed distribution of the time allocation for the various subject


areas. For example, was the education provided at the “schools” aimed at enabling students

to mature towards normal rational autonomy or at training in conformity? This question is

the more pertinent because, whilst, the curriculum content in this sector of the Islamic

Education system is clearly relevant to the aim of imparting the set of values associated

with the Islamic way of life, the disproportionate total amount of time allotted to the

Islamic Studies and to the study of the Arabic language, in the weekly time-table, left

relatively little time for students to get some insights into the knowledge, skills and

attitudes which are generally accepted as relevant to the world of work, and which can be

introduced in the pre-vocational curriculum as optional studies. This gap in educational

provision is the more disappointing, given that it was in evidence in all the four countries,

in all the QSCs other than the Madrassas at the Junior Secondary/ Upper Basic school level

and in the rural Madrassas (see Table 4.7). On the other hand, the findings in Gambia,

Niger and Sénégal painted a less gloomy picture of the availability of vocational education

at the Madrassas and at the other QSCs, for Out-of-school Youth, Adults and Women’s

groups.

Assuming then that it is the values of Islam that inform the vision of education which the

“schools” have, there can be some tension between these values and those of the State.

However, (as in Gambia), such tension can be lessened through a Memorandum of

Understanding (between the local Islamic Education Authority and the Ministry of

Education) — though apparently with considerable latitude given to the “schools” with

regard to the curriculum, judging from what obtains in Gambia (see Chapter IV).

School Governance and Management

It was also assumed that values affect the actions, procedures, structures and

accountability framework which give to educational institutions their character —— not

only as regards the curriculum but also their governance. It did not seem appropriate to

look into the accountability of the Managers (both contractual and professional) as that

would require enquiring into the mission for which the “schools” were established and

into the nature and distribution of authority within the sector. The study simply

concentrated on a small set of values which most educationists might be expected to

espouse and which seem embedded in CONFEMEN’s (2006) priorities for the

management of State schools — granted that faith schools would be expected to promote

their own set of values, in addition. So, with regard to the management aspects of the

“schools”, the focus of the study was on the value placed on (a) Community Participation

in education, (b) School Effectiveness, and (c) Continuing Professional Development.

Community Participation


The Baseline Survey presents a picture of male-dominated school governing bodies of

widely varying size and with a generally good representation of parents/ guardians and

Islamic scholars but with local employers grossly underrepresented (if at all). While it is

understandable that the very small, Private, rural, Quranic Schooling Centres might not

want to be under the authority of a governing body, there must be a question about

whether the composition of the governing bodies should not be standardised (in terms of,

for example, gender, and local Business interests), whilst preserving the distinct ethos and

traditions of individual “schools”. The opportunity for local communities to take part in

the governance of the “schools” could be such a powerful means for the “schools” of

developing and maintaining strong links with the communities and of achieving a

consensus about the changes deemed necessary in educational provision locally.

School Effectiveness

To begin with, the concept of cost-effectiveness, though important, was considered

inappropriate in the circumstances because of a combination of factors, such as the

diversity of “schools”, the amount of choice in the education market, the religious cum

philanthropic perspective underpinning educational provision, and the apparent “carte

blanche” in school governance — let alone the difficulties of obtaining the necessary

relevant, hard data. The present study concentrated therefore on certain aspects of school

effectiveness that presented fewer difficulties for data collection and data analysis.

Taking internal efficiency first, the ever-present factor of gender disparity in both the

enrolment and achievement of girls was not altogether surprising; and although there were

encouraging signs of progress towards parity (and even beyond) in enrolment as measured

by the Gender Ratio (particularly in Niger and Sénégal), the relatively higher drop-out

rate among teenage girls than among boys remains a cause for concern, particularly as

Awareness raising campaigns about gender equity are minimal (see Table 4.17).

Actually, the drop-out rate among teenagers, in general, is also a cause for concern as the

transition from Lower Basic/ Primary Schools to Upper Basic/ Junior Secondary Schools

may be bewildering for some because of the constantly changing set of teachers and

subjects in their new schools (let alone the choice of subjects); and, for rural teenagers, in

particular, because of the move from a small village school to a large secondary school in

town. Regrettably, there was no time in the present study to look at the official

arrangements for this said transition and at the key information which is available about

the “schools” and on which communities may rely. But the point being emphasised here

is three-fold: firstly, the conspicuous growth in enrolments registered in recent years in

the “schools” does not necessarily imply that all the enrolled students will successfully


complete their schooling. Secondly, the drop-out rate raises questions not only about

gender equity but also about the socio-economic differential in education, since it is likely

that male and female students from the poorest households are disproportionately

represented among the drop-outs. Thirdly, the suggestion made at ADEA’s 2003 Biennial

meeting (Schott, 2005) that the use of mother tongue instruction in African schools would

be accompanied by lower repetition rates (caused by language difficulties) and lower

drop-outs in the medium and long term, is well worth considering.

The indications then are that the “internal efficiency” of the “schools” is in the hands of

the “school” Managers and their teaching staff to a large extent, but what about the other

element of school effectiveness, that is, the “external efficiency” of the “schools”, as

indicated by school leavers’ destinations and by employment/ self-employment for Out-

of-School Youth? The evidence is very thin in this point because of the dearth of

statistical information about students’ destinations. Nevertheless, this element of school

effectiveness opens up again the issue of how much emphasis should the “schools” put on

the Technical/ Business subject areas in the curriculum, the point being that if these are

not valued, and if (as seems likely, see Section 4.1.5.1), local employers are not

represented on schools’ Governing Councils, it does not make sense presumably, to put in

place a tracer system to follow students’ destinations in industry, commerce and the

public services — and it seems that this is what may have happened so far in many of the

“schools” in the sector (see Section 4.1.4.2). Yet, the importance of tracer studies, such as

that of Bittaye and Cummings (1996) in Gambia and that of Moussa and Galy (2003) in

Niger, is undeniable in the context of human capital development and for the evaluation

of programmes of study; and consequently, “external efficiency” too is to a large extent

the responsibility of the “school” managers and their teaching staff.

Continuing Professional Development

Curiously then, the study paints a picture of the “schools” in the francophone countries

(except in Niger’s Madrassas) operating under the leadership of mostly inadequately

qualified and relatively inexperienced Managers who have under their authority mostly

professionally qualified full-time teachers (see Tables 4.14 and 4.15) — the very

converse of the delivery system for the sector in the anglophone country of Gambia

where the Management of most “schools” is in competent hands but not the teaching!

It was probably inevitable that the “school” Managers would be placed under the

spotlight in this study — given the application of market mechanisms to student

recruitment, coupled with the implementation of an expansionist strategy, and the wide

range of expertise that is required of Managers to enable them to manage efficiently and


effectively — particularly as a few are managing very large “schools” of some 2,000 to

3,000 students. But what the study found was that the proportion of professionally

qualified and experienced “Managers” was unacceptablely small, specially in Mali and

Sénégal (see Table 4.14). Also unacceptable was the majority view among the Managers

of the QSCs (other than the Madrassas) that a professional qualification was not

applicable in their contexts — unless their stance can be rationalised in terms of, for

example, their idiosyncratic beliefs and practices with regard to teaching in the sector.

However, if as Chapter IV points out, a redeeming feature of the professional profiles of

the Managers was that many among them had attended relevant academic or professional

courses/ workshops, the same cannot be said of the teachers’ professional profiles,

particularly in Gambia. Yet it is commonplace that the initial education and training of

teachers need to be reinforced by continuing professional development through

appropriate courses/ workshops. Whether these are University-based or College of

Education-based or In-house (school)-based may not be as relevant an issue as whether

they turn the beneficiaries into reflective practitioners; but engaging the Managers and

their Staff in the process of continuing professional development may need to involve

convincing them that in a time of expanding knowledge it is necessary for practitioners to

undertake additional learning during their professional careers.

5.2 Discussion of the qualitative research data

The different country reports have indicated that Madrassas and QSCs differ in terms of

governance, curriculum, and teaching and learning methods.

Generally, the teaching staffs lack training to deal with their regular tasks, not to mention

the introduction of vocational skills. More funding and commitment on the part of the

Central Governments and donor agencies are needed in order to develop vocational and

skills development programs. This is more relevant for QSCs, which operate on a non-

formal basis with very little support and control, if they are expected to contribute to the

attainment of the Education for All (EFA) and the Millennium Development Goals. All

QSCs and a significant number of Madrassas do not have proper records to keep up-to-date

information about their past and present students. It appears also that teachers do not

prepare their lessons — a lack of organization that affects the quality of learning, and

explains their unwillingness to innovate, particularly in QSCs. In reality, they are not

trained for the job so that they reproduce their own experiences.

The teaching of the Koran is assured by local people, most of them men, even if women are

making a remarkable entry in urban areas. In rural settings, the weight of tradition confines


women at home, thus reducing significantly their access to education. In fact, as indicated

in the literature review, rural dwellers take for granted that girls need only to learn a few

verses of The Holy Koran for the daily prayer. Exit erudition for them! However, this view

is outdated and the new promoters of Islamic education do their best to push each learner as

far as possible. However, gender equity is still an issue in Islamic educational institutions,

despite the claim of managers that males and females, either as students or as teachers, are

treated equally. The female representation within the teaching personnel is too small to

provide role models for girls.

Though governments are not doing much to support QSCs, there are here and there several

good initiatives sponsored by NGOs with the assistance of international organizations. The

experiments open new perspectives to the numerous children and adults who choose

Quranic schools for their education because they are either more accessible or the cheapest.

The traditional Quranic schools are aimed at teaching the holy text and at producing people

capable of good Islamic practice while Madrassas pursue the development of responsible

citizenship.

The curricula give very little place to Skills acquisition, a weakness that should call the

attention of educational managers. If basic education is to contribute to poverty alleviation

at the micro level and to the satisfaction of community competency needs, the introduction

of technical and vocational components becomes a must. Unfortunately, the country studies

suggest that both QSCs and Madrassas are not sensitive to community needs. For example,

51% to 65% of the interviewees in Niger said that vocational training is not part of their

goals. Consequently, the curriculum is not pertinent. The few respondents who assess it as

adequate said so with regard to its relevance to social integration.

Along with the introduction of new alternatives, the interviews revealed also that some

Quranic schools insist more on the development of literacy skills than on the memorization

of the Koran. This change is worth monitoring.

CHAPTER VI:

CONCLUSION and RECOMMENDATIONS

6.1 Conclusion

Islamic education in the four targeted countries is mainly provided within educational

institutions that were introduced in sub-Saharan Africa early in the post hegira era, as

indicated by several historical sources (Cuoq, 1984; Hiskett, 1984; Meunier, 1994). .These

institutions were individual initiatives motivated by the quest of divine reward. The


promoters were benevolent and were not trained for the task as there was no training

facility per se, and new information and communication technologies were not of use.

Next to these traditional institutions, are the modern types of Quranic Schooling Centres

(QSCs) which appeared twenty to thirty years ago. The animators of these new QSCs

charge school fees or work for religious organizations for pay.

Shortly before the advent of this category of Islamic education facilities, the State had

developed Bilingual schools within the formal education scheme. The curriculum of the

latter includes Islamic education — the teaching of the Koran and of Islamic studies — in

addition to that of regular formal schools. Their stated agenda was to lessen parents’

resistance to the Western type of schooling but that resistance became stronger because of

the popular support they had within the communities.

The new offerings have added non-religious content in the curriculum — biology,

mathematics, history and vocational training — in response to the needs of the learners.

However, there is considerable room for improvement in the curriculum, in the

management and in the infrastructure for the institutions. With pedagogical training,

strategic planning and public support, the modernized Islamic educational institutions could

open more opportunities for marginalized communities to acquire Basic Education.

Interventions in pedagogical training, strategic planning, school management and the

infrastructure should deal with the lack of qualified teachers and managers as well as with

the lack of material and financial resources.

6.2 Recommendations

It is recommended that UNESCO intervenes in the sector in each of the four countries through:

■ Improving the learning conditions in the sector (including improving the infrastructure)

■ Curriculum development for the sector

■ Initial Teacher-training and Continuous Professional Development

■ Educational leadership training for the “school” managers

■ The promotion of innovative initiatives (including existing ones)

■ The democratization of Knowledge (through the development of AJAMI) No significance is ascribed to the order in which the recommendations appear in the above list. Some of the recommendations were elaborated through Concept Papers as explained in section 6.3 below.

6.3 The Concept papers

Under the contractual obligations for the present study, “proposals for pilot interventions as

well as recommendations for practitioners” were to be made. Faced with this somewhat


ambiguous dual requirement, the research team’s stance (at one of its cross-national

meetings) was to interpret this dual requirement in context, specially because of the history

of the project and of the scope of work (which was inordinately demanding) and because of

the emphasis placed on possible pilot interventions on the part of UNESCO. There

emerged during the discussions at the meeting, the notion of “Concept Papers” as an

appropriate (if unusual) accommodation of the two components of the dual requirement

(that is, the pilot interventions and the recommendations for practitioners). In other words,

the research team decided that the cross-country Synthesis Report for the study would

submit a package of Concept Papers, that is proposals (in outline form), that would indicate

the team’s recommended areas for pilot interventions as well as the implementation

strategies, in general, for practitioners. This integrated approach (to meeting the dual

requirement) with its notion of built-in recommendations was thought to be more

appropriate than a mere list of recommendations — traditionally an expected outcome of

research studies!

Importantly, the minutes of the meeting were circulated to all concerned and the research

team received no adverse comments about this approach. Later, at another cross-national

meeting, the research team focused on determining its recommended areas for pilot

interventions, country by country. The minutes of the meeting were again circulated to all

concerned. And again the research team received no adverse comments about its approach.

Subsequently, five Concept Papers were finalised and are presented below in sections

6.3.1 to 6.3.5.

Underlying this set of Concept Papers was the realisation that at the heart of UNESCO’s

dual requirement was the expectation that the research findings might lead to pilot

interventions that might in turn contribute to “improvements” in the provision of education

in this sector of the Islamic Education system. There was the realisation too that the

process of developing a structure for such essential systemic “improvements” (as against

tinkering with the system) in the context of the Private faith “schools” (within the system)

was likely to be evolutionary, given that the system was undergirded by an entrenched

religious belief system, and by a particular ideological approach to teaching- learning.

Also, with respect to the design and implementation of such a structural reform of the

sector, a “critical dialogue” had to be established between all involved parties (see Buchert,

1998); and from that perspective what was needed at each “school” was a democratic

community of parents, local community members, the business community and the

“school” staff. The collaboration of these various stakeholders in running “schools” was

seen as crucial for the development of a sense of ownership among the stakeholders (for

any systemic “improvements” that might be introduced in the “schools”).


Yet another consideration underlying the Concept Papers was that, under the contractual

obligations for the study, “strategies about the inclusion of girls and women, teacher-

training, curriculum innovation and networking” were to be included into the

recommendations. The research team’s position in this regard was that although

implementation strategies, in general, would be included in the Concept Papers, specific

strategic plans would only be incorporated into full-blown proposals for interventions, as

and when required.

To take the theme of “Girls and Women”, for example, it did not emerge as a strong

candidate for intervention in this study, although there was some evidence of continuing

gender disparities (see for example Table 4.9, about the reported drop-out rates at “school”)

— perhaps because gender issues in education in developing countries, as well as the

recommended policies and strategies for promoting gender equity in education are fairly

well documented (see, for example, Brock and Cammish, 1997 a and b; Duret and Bernard,

2004). However, taking the Concept Paper about Leadership Training for “school”

“Managers” (in Section 6.3.2), as an example of a proposal for intervention and given that

the expectation is that, as an outcome of such an intervention, gender policies would be

formulated and put into action in “schools”, it is conceivable that when developed into a

full-blown proposal for a specific intervention by UNESCO (or indeed by other funding

agencies), an appropriate, costed, strategic plan for implementing the policies would be

included in the full-blown proposal. Thus, a strategic plan (prepared by, say, the Islamic Education Authorities nationally) might include putting into operation policies for :

(a) increasing, respectively, the proportions of:: (i) women in the memberships of “school” Governing Councils

(ii) female “school” “Managers” nationally

(iii) female teachers among the “school” teaching staff

(iv) sponsored female “school” “Managers” and teachers on Continuing Professional Development courses

(v) girls and women in student enrolment and retention on “school” programmes

(b) (i) conducting awareness raising programmes nationally for “school” staff (about gender equity and gender stereotyping in “schools”)

(ii) supporting similar programmes for parents, community leaders and business communities, locally

(c) finding the means of providing financial aid, as appropriate, to “school” girls at Secondary School level

(d) launching an appropriate remedial programme of further education for female Senior Secondary School leavers who do not meet fully all the entry requirements for initial teacher-training programmes.


6.3.1 Concept Paper on:

Developing a curriculum for Islamic education including non-religious content

Context and rationale

The education policies of the participating countries consider Quranic schooling as a non-

formal education modality. However, for lack of sufficient pedagogical work, this status

is not fully recognized by the Departments of Education which give all the educational

moneys to formal schools, thus behaving as if they are departments of schooling and

Malam Moussa and Galy (2006) have questioned this. On the other hand, thousands of

citizens, young and adults attend this institution to acquire education, but the actual

curriculum does not cover all their needs.

Data collected during this study indicate that the actors are ready to improve their offers

as they are fully aware of their limits. In fact, this study indicated that skills development

is missing in the programs offered and the contents are different from one school to

another. Developing a curriculum to reinforce the existing content and provide modern

knowledge and know-how is undoubtedly a salvation activity for the many learners

whose right to basic education is not entirely fulfilled because of curricular weaknesses.

Aim and objectives

The aim of this intervention is to develop a curriculum for all the actors of Islamic

education. More specifically, it is expected (i) to fill the gaps observed in the current

educational programs of Quranic schools, (ii) modernize the offerings both in terms of

pedagogical approaches and practices, (iii) build the foundations of a quality control

mechanism and (iv) provide the learners with the minimum knowledge, know-how and

social skills required for Basic Education.

Activities

Several studies have been realized and pilot activities developed here and there. The first

task to undertake in this intervention is to analyse them so as to have a complete

repertoire of initiatives from which good practices can be identified for diffusion. The

derived synthesis will then be shared with competent national authorities and potential

implementers for enrichment before the set up of technical teams that will finalize the

curriculum.

Implementation strategies


The expectation is that UNESCO and ERNWACA will establish: (i) a strategic

partnership with Islamic international organizations such as ISESCO and the Islamic

Development Bank and (ii) organize an international seminar aimed at sharing the results

of the present study. The Islamic Development Bank may provide funding through its

bilingual education project currently implemented in some of the concerned countries.


Leadership training for the Managers of Madrassas and for those of other Quranic Schooling Centres

Context and Rationale This paper proceeds from the premise that the management of the sector (the Madrassas

and other Quranic Schooling Centres) is of considerable importance, if the teaching force

is to meet appropriate teaching standards. This issue is particularly pertinent at present

because, in recent years, the “schools” have increased significantly their intake and there

is therefore a question about the extent to which they are able to accommodate the

increase in the number of entrants without detriment to the quality of their programme

offerings.

Another point to consider is that the recent emphasis on some ideas about Education

Management world-wide (such as those of accountability, transparency, community

participation and Quality Assurance) has influenced a number of developments in the

management of State schools, and the question is whether the Islamic “schools” are

adequately informed and resourced to adopt such ideas successfully. In this context the

concern is with such matters as:

(a) the governance and internal organisation structure of the “schools”

(b) the Systems in place e.g. the Planning System (including the Management

Information System and the Tracer System), the Quality Control and Assurance

System, and the Funding System (including the Cost-recovery System)

(c) the Continuing Professional Development of the Managers and Teachers

(d) the balance between the management control exercised on the “schools” (by

National Ministries of Education and/or by the Islamic Education Authorities) and

the academic freedom of the “schools”. (This balance is important because, on the

one hand, Government and/or the Islamic Education authorities may wish to

exercise control on, for example, student numbers, teachers’ conditions of service,

and a particular ideological approach to teaching-learning. On the other hand, the

“schools” may be keen on safeguarding their academic freedom to manage their

own affairs and to determine their own development plans).


Aim

In broad terms then, the aim is to assist the development of an appropriate framework for

the effective management of the “schools”, based on an identification of “good practice”.

Activities

The diagram below shows the envisaged activities and their sequence. Underpinning the

proposed activities is the assumption that although leadership at every level of

management in education inevitably depends on the personality of the individual leader, it

can be learned and modified to suit particular environments. Another underlying

assumption is that after the National Validation Workshop and prior to an intervention

in a “school” there must be a dialogue among stakeholders in education locally. Hence,

each participating “school” authority needs to set up a Local Facilitation Team

composed of the “school” Head, and of representatives of: the “school” teaching staff, the

other local school teachers, the local Islamic Education Authority, the local State

Education Authority, the Parents of the school pupils, the Business Community, the

Social institutions, and the other Community Leaders. Such direct community

participation will develop a sense of ownership among the stakeholders and will enhance

the likelihood that the “school” and the community that it serves will come to terms with

the implications of the intervention for “school” management.

The National Task Force would be set up and resourced in consultation with the

appropriate National Islamic Education Authorities and the Ministry of Education in each

country. Its purpose will be to oversee the project from inception to the end. Importantly,

it will develop, as appropriate, a comprehensive portfolio of “good practice” with regard

to the various aspects of school management that the National Task Force identifies as

important in the context of the sector in each country.

Organise Validation Workshops and disseminate the Baseline Survey findings country

wide.

Set up a National Task Force in each country.

Set up a Local Facilitation Team for each participating “school”.

Organise Area Workshops in selected areas in each country to explain the

identified good practices and their adoption. Select “schools” for Piloting

the implementation of identified good practices in

school management.

Monitor and Evaluate the impact of the intervention on

“school” management in the sector


The Area Workshops would be organised by the Local Facilitation Teams and attended

by Managers and teachers from selected “schools” in each geographical area, in each

country. The workshop participants should include, in addition, representatives of the

local Islamic Education Authorities, the local Education Authorities, Parents, Community

Leaders, Social Institutions and the Business Communities.

The assembled Area Workshops participants would:

(a) discuss the identified portfolio of “good practice” in the management of the “schools”

(b) work on the development and documentation of policies and strategies for

managing the “schools” and on plans for their implementation

(c) secure agreement on the institutionalisation of an appropriate form of periodic Peer

review in the “schools” in the area.

Expected outcomes.

Some of the expected outcomes over a period of some five years or so are: an increased

participation of the local communities in policy formulation for the “schools” (through

their representation on “school” governing bodies), more resources mobilised for the

Continuing Professional Development of Managers and teachers, a gender policy

formulated and put into action, appropriate Systems in place for Education Management

Information and for Quality Assurance, an improved infrastructure, and an increased level

of financial support by national and international donors and other funding agencies..

Implementation Strategy

The proposed strategy is much the same as that indicated in the Concept Paper with

regard to the Curriculum (see section 6.3.1 above). Thus, the expectation is that

UNESCO and ERNWACA will (i) establish a strategic partnership with Islamic

international organizations such as ISESCO and the Islamic Development Bank, and (ii)

organise an International Seminar aimed at sharing the results of the present study. The

Islamic Development Bank may provide funding through its Bilingual education project

currently being implemented in some of the concerned countries.



The introduction of Vocational subjects in the school curriculum in Gambia

Rationale

The flexibility of the Non-Formal framework for Basic Education (in the Madrassas and the

other Quranic Schooling Centres) is convenient and appropriate for the less affluent who

are forced to combine education with the search for the basic means of survival; and the

Baseline Survey has enlightened us to some of the hidden potential of the Islamic schools

for such sections of the population. Also, a review of the on-going curriculum has revealed

some constraints but also vital strategies and plans of action that would have to be in place

if the objective of incorporating secular subjects and livelihood skills in Islamic schools is

to be achieved; and the desire of Islamic schools to have vocational subjects as additional to

their traditional curriculum. (in the Memorandum of understanding between the Department

of State for Education and the General Secretariat for Arabic/Islamic Education in 2005.)

Aim

The aim is to widen the scope of Islamic/Arabic education and include technical and

vocational skills training.

The Specific objectives are:

(a) To investigate why vocational subjects are not offered in most Madrassas and

other Quranic Schooling centres.

(b) To investigate the most appropriate and cost-effective way of providing vocational

subjects as a pilot scheme in some “schools”.

(c) To investigate a cost-effective way of delivering the programme of study in a pilot

manner having in mind the lack of qualified teachers and of resources for Technical

/Business Subject areas

(d) To study the pilot results and the costs and propose a comprehensive introduction

of the scheme nationally.

Activities

(a) Based on the information gained from the Baseline Survey, research instruments

would be developed to carry out in each of the six geographical regions of the

country a mapping exercise of Madrassas and other Quranic Schooling Centres

which are at close proximity to formal schools which offer vocational subjects and

which could share their facilities with isolated Madrassas.

(b) The availability of qualified vocational teachers in the formal, private and public

vocational schools would be determined.


(c) Strategies and plans would be developed for consideration by the DoSE and the

General Secretariat for Arabic/ Islamic Education as to the most cost-effective way

of introducing relevant vocational subjects in the curriculum.

Implementation Strategies

The necessary Resources could be provided by, for example, Central Government, Donor

agencies, the African Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, and The World

Bank and the project would be implemented through UNESCO and ERNWACA.


The Training and Professional Development of Teachers of all levels in Madrassas and other QSCs in Gambia

Justification

The delivery of programmes at Madrassas and Quranic Schooling Centres (the “Schools”)

requires teaching staff that are professionally trained and can pass on their up-to-date

knowledge of their subject specialisms. This study has revealed that there were 877

teachers in all the “schools” surveyed, of whom 416 Male and 71 Female teachers (for both

full and part-time) were unqualified representing, about 56% of the total number of teachers

surveyed. Most of the schools surveyed indicated that they had difficulties in recruiting

professionally qualified teachers. Staff development is a key element in all the “Schools”,

but they have difficulty in acquiring funds or scholarships to train their staff.

Aims

In broad terms, the aim of this project is to train teachers for professional development and

subject specialism against the background of a growing demand for qualified teachers in the

Madrassas and QSC’s.

Specific objectives

The specific objectives will be to:

(a) Identify Teachers who need to be trained for a professional qualification and at what

level

(b) Identify those that need up-grading in their subject areas.

(c) Provide in-service training for unqualified teachers in the field during the long

school holidays (July to September each year).

Activities

Specialized training for those teachers requiring a Certificate level professional

qualification could be organised during the long vacations (from July to September) in two


consecutive years. This programme could be organised by the General Secretariat for

Arabic/Islamic Education, in collaboration with Gambia College.

A Scholarships Scheme could be established over a period of 5 years for teachers who need

up-grading in their subject areas.

Implementation Strategy

Resources might be provided by Central government, donors and international funding

agencies and the project would be implemented through UNESCO and ERNWACA.

Action Plan

The project would be of five – years duration

Strategy Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 150 new intakes

150 to complete

150 new intakes.

150 to complete

150 new intakes

150 to complete

Unqualified teachers

to be trained

for a period of 2

years. 150 new

intakes 150 to

complete

Scholarships for up-grading in subject

areas for 1 year

20 new intakes

20 new intakes

20 new intakes

20 new intakes

20 new intakes

By the end of the project 600 teachers would have been trained for a profession

qualification at Certificate level and 100 teachers would have been up-graded in their

various subject areas.


Piloting two experimental projects (one in a reformed Madrassa and one in a Daara), in Sénégal.

Context and Rationale

The lessons learnt from the present study of 41 institutions (28 Madrassas and 13 Daaras)

will enable us to undertake two experimental projects aimed at improving these institutions

with regard to their organisation, equipment, operations, management, finances,

partnerships, as well as to the learners’ achievements, as these will more easily integrate

into the cultural and socio-economic fabric of their societies or continue with their further

formal or non-formal education. It goes without saying that the improvement in such

outcomes will necessarily be through programmes of study and curricula that will be better

articulated with the workforce requirements of the labour market.


This is to say that education and training in such institutions will be orientated not only

towards reinforcing knowledge but also towards the integration of school leavers into

society and towards the struggle (against poverty) for lasting Development.

General Objectives The aim is to improve the educational profile of Madrassa and Daara school leavers,

respectively, through two experimental pilot projects (one in a reformed Madrassa and

one in a Daara) with the view of achieving their better integration into social life and into

the labour market or into further formal or non-formal education.

Specific Objectives and Activities The following institutions will be selected on the basis of specified criteria:-

(a) a pilot Madrassa within the district of Rufisque.

(b) a pilot Daara within the rural community of Sangelcam

In both (a) and(b) an Experimental group of 20 learners and a Control group of 20 learners

will be selected for the experiment. The Experimental group and the Control group will

each be made up of ten 9 to12 year old boys and of ten 9 to12 year old girls.

For both (a) and (b) the objectives will be to:-

• Share the project aim and implementation with the project team and all other actors

in the project, in view of its implications and of their involvement in the experiment

• Set up a group of partners committed to back up the institution at the technical,

material and financial levels

• Determine together with the whole project team a system of participative

management

• Develop a programme of study, teaching materials, and a plan for the training of the

teachers in the use of these materials, so as to improve the achievement profile of the

learners.

• Put in place a Monitoring and Evaluation system together with the necessary

instruments for the evaluation of the experiment using the key indicators accepted

with the common consent of the actors concerned.

• Turn to advantage the experiment and document it.

Implementation Each project will be of three years’ duration (2008 -2010). The detailed Action Plan is

available.


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APPENDIX 1

Questionnaire For Managers/ Headteachers/ Principals/ Directors of Madrassas or

other Quranic Schooling Centres /Settings (pages 87 to 100)

APPENDIX 2

Interview Guide For Managers/ Headteachers/ Principals/ Directors of Madrassas or

other Quranic Schooling Centres (QSCs) and Settings (pages 101 to 104)

EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH NETWORK FOR WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA (ERNWACA)


QUESTIONNAIRE FOR MANAGERS/ HEADTEACHERS/PRINCIPALS /DIRECTORS of MADRASSAS OR OTHER QURANIC SCHOOLING

CENTRES /SETTINGS ID Code for each Country

For Gambia For Mali For Niger For Senegal G M N S

[Note: in each country the ID Code for each respondent should start with the appropriate letter, so that, for example, for Gambia, the IDs will start as G001, G002, G003, etc,

and for Mali, the IDs will be M001, M002, etc]

INTRODUCTION

This questionnaire has been developed as part of a UNESCO study of the modalities of interventions in Basic Education and in Non-Formal Education within marginalised populations, with special reference to the case of Madrassas and other Quranic Schooling Centres (QSCs) and Settings.

For convenience sake the word “school” is used in this questionnaire to refer to Madrassas and other Quranic Schooling Centres and Settings. Also, the word “students” here refers to all learners whether they are young learners or adult learners.

The aim of this study is to find out how such “schools” provide Basic Education and/or Non-Formal Education (including livelihood skills and vocational training for meeting local needs) and to promote the observed good practices.

To begin with, please circle the letter in the appropriate box for the designation of this “school” and then go to Section 1

Official Designation of the “School” Code A Madrassa M

A Quranic Schooling Centre or Setting, other than a Madrassa Q (Please specify the official designation here: ………………………………………………………………………….)

Section 1. YOUR PERSONAL BACKGROUND

1.1 Please circle the numbers in the appropriate shaded boxes below:-

Gender Age Nationality Male Female Less than

30 yrs old 30 to 45 yrs old

Over 45 yrs old Gambian Non-

Gambian 1 2 1 2 3 1 2

1.2. Your Position at the “school”. Please circle the numbers in the appropriate shaded boxes below:-

The Manager

The Headteacher

The Principal

The Director

Other (please specify) …………………….

Full-time Part-time

1 2 3 4 5 2 1

1.3. Your Professional Qualifications (A) Your highest professional qualification in Education as a subject area

Please circle the number in the appropriate shaded box below:

Teacher’s Certificate in

Education

Higher /Advanced Certificate or Diploma in

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Education

Master’s degree in Education

Doctorate in

Education

Not Applicable

1 2 3 4 5 0

(B) Your highest qualification in Technical/ Commercial /Vocational subject areas ………………………………………………



If Yes, please give their title(s) ………………………………………………….….. ……… 1.5 Your Professional Experience

Please indicate the TOTAL number of years of experience (in Madrassas or other QSCs/ Settings) that you have had whether as Teacher /Manager /Headteacher /Principal /Director

Section 2. THE “SCHOOL”

[Note: This Section is about the “school” of which you are the Manager /Headteacher /Principal /Director]

2.1 Name of the “School” 2.2 Location of the “School”.

(A) The Address of the “school” Village Town/City/District Region/Division

……………………….. ……………………….. ………………………..

(B) Is the location Rural or Urban? Please circle the number in the Rural Urban Appropriate shaded box. 1 2

2.3 Type of “School”

Please circle the number in the appropriate shaded box below to indicate the type of “school” A Privately

owned “school” A Community

“School” A Government/State

“school” Other (Please specify)

................................... 1 2 3 4

Please name the organisation(s) (if any) that sponsor(s) the “school” financially ……………………………………………………….

2.4 “School” population

(A) Indicate the “school” population for the WHOLE “school” by circling the numbers in the appropriate shaded boxes.

3-6 yr olds (Pre-school age)

7-12 yr olds (Lower Basic /Primary School age)

13-16 yr olds (Upper Basic /Junior Secondary School age)

Yes No Yes No Yes No 1 2 1 2 1 2

17-19 yr olds

(Senior Secondary School age) 13-19 yr olds

(Out-of-“school” Youth) Mature Students (Older than 19 year)

Yes No Yes No Yes No 1 2 1 2 1 2

(B) Indicate also the SIZE of the “school”

by circling the number in the appropriate shaded box

1.4. Have you attended any official academic or professional courses /seminars/ conferences /workshops (that are relevant to your present position in the “school”) Yes Y

in the last two years? Please circle the letter in the appropriate shaded box No N

Professional Experience in Madrassas or other QSCs/Settings Less than


More than 15 years

1 2 3

…………………..……………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………….…..

……………………………………………………………………

Less than 50 students

50 to 1,000 students

More than 1,000 students

1 2 3



2.5 “School” enrolment (A) Complete the table below for the number of students enrolled in recent years at the

“school”

School Year Number of Male students

Number of Female students

The Total Number of students

Year 2003/04

Year 2004/05

Year2005/06

(B) Complete the table below by putting in each shaded box the number of registered educational institutions that exist at present for the following age groups within the catchment area for this “school” (excluding this “school”).

No. of No. of Other No. of Other No. of State/ Central Age Group Madrassas QSCs/Settings Private schools Government schools

3 – 6 yr olds 7 – 12 yr olds 13 – 16 yr olds 17 – 19 yr olds Other (Please specify)

(C) Below is a list of reasons that may be given by parents/ guardians for sending their children to “schools” such as this one. Focusing on your “school”, give each reason a code using the coding table below.

Some possible reasons given by Parents/Guardians for sending their children to this “school” CODE

The high quality of teaching The low level of “school” fees The short distance of the “school” from home The religious content of the programme The vocational training given The life skills in the programme The opportunity to learn the official language of the country Others (Please specify)

Coding table to be used for the listed reasons above.

Frequency of reason

The most frequently

given

Quite frequently

given

Frequently given

Less frequently

given

The least frequently

given Never given

Code 6 5 4 3 2 1

(D) Is this “school” offering specialised educational programmes for the following: Groups Yes No Out-of-school youth ? 1 2 Non-Formal Adult Education ? 1 2 Women? 1 2

(E) Are the “School” Authorities planning to extend the “School’s” educational provision locally through admitting more students in the following groups? Yes No N/A

(a) the Lower Basic /Primary School or equivalent Group(s) 1 2 0 (b) the Upper Basic/Junior Secondary School or equivalent Group(s) 1 2 0 (c) the Out-of-School Youth Group(s) 1 2 0 (d) the Non-Formal Adult Education Group(s) 1 2 0 (e) the Women’s Group(s) 1 2 0

[Key: NA = Not Applicable]



2.6 Socio-economic composition of the “school” population Using the classification scheme below for the Heads of the Households where the “school” students live, indicate the distribution of students for each socio-economic group by circling the number in the box that best describes the size of that group at the “school”

Distribution of “school” students by socio-economic backgroundSocio-economic Group of

Heads of Households Everyone The majority Many A few None Not

ApplicableFarmer 5 4 3 2 1 0

Rural Non-Farm worker 5 4 3 2 1 0 Urban Informal sector worker 5 4 3 2 1 0

Urban Formal sector worker(Public or Private ) 5 4 3 2 1 0

Sub-urban Informal sector worker 5 4 3 2 1 0

Sub-urban Formal sector worker (Public or Private) 5 4 3 2 1 0

Not in the workforce 5 4 3 2 1 0 2.7 “School” Performance.

Please read this section very carefully before you respond. In the table below, please indicate for each of the two school years 2004/05, and 2005/06,

(a) the number of students (Male and Female) in each age group who sat the FINAL year examination for that age group.

(b) the number of students (Male and Female), in each age group, who passed the final year examination for that age group.

(c) the number of students (Male and Female), in each age group, who dropped out of the programme of study for that age group

(A) The no. of Students who sat the end-of-year examination for their final year in 2005 and in 2006, respectively Grade Year School Year 2004/05 School Year 2005/06

Age Group Gender Male Female Male Female

7-12yr olds Grade 6 (i.e. Final Year at Primary/ Lower Basic School)

13-16yr olds Grade 9 (i.e. Final Year at Junior Secondary/ Upper Basic School)

17-19yr olds Grade 12 (i.e. Final Year at Senior Secondary School)

(B) The no. of Students who passed the end-of-year examination for their final year in 2005 and in 2006, respectively

Age Group Grade Year School Year 2004/05 School Year 2005/06






(C) The no. of Students in the age groups below who dropped out (from “school”) during the years 2004/05 and 2005/06, respectively

Age Group Grade Year School Year 2004/05 School Year 2005/06




2.8 Employment/Work for the “school” leavers

(A) Does the “school” have a formal system for finding out how many of its young school leavers go into work/employment, and/or further education, every year?

(Please circle the number in the appropriate box) (B) Do you know any of your former students who are now in work/employment?

If YES: On average, in the last three years, about how many of your students who left “school” at the end of or during their adolescent years at your Upper Basic /Junior Secondary “school” went into work/employment locally in the sectors listed below.

(For each sector in the table below please circle the appropriate number; NA = Not Applicable)

Destinations of young MALE school leavers within the sectors of employment

Sector of employment Everyone The majority

Quite a few/many

A few None Don’t

know/NA Agriculture 5 4 3 2 1 0 Fishing 5 4 3 2 1 0 Manufacturing 5 4 3 2 1 0 Construction 5 4 3 2 1 0 Wholesale & Retail 5 4 3 2 1 0 Hotels & Restaurants 5 4 3 2 1 0 Transport, Storage & Communication 5 4 3 2 1 0 Public Administration & defence 5 4 3 2 1 0 Social & Recreational Services 5 4 3 2 1 0 Personal Services 5 4 3 2 1 0 Other (please specify)…………………………… 5 4 3 2 1 0

Destinations of young FEMALE school leavers within the sectors of employment

Sector Everyone The majority

Quite a few/many

A few None Don’t

know./NA Agriculture 5 4 3 2 1 0

Fishing 5 4 3 2 1 0

Manufacturing 5 4 3 2 1 0

Construction 5 4 3 2 1 0

Wholesale & Retail 5 4 3 2 1 0

Hotels & Restaurants 5 4 3 2 1 0

Transport, Storage & Communication 5 4 3 2 1 0

Public Administration & defence 5 4 3 2 1 0

Social & Recreational Services 5 4 3 2 1 0

Personal Services 5 4 3 2 1 0

Other (please specify)……………………… 5 4 3 2 1 0

Yes No N/A 1 2 0



Section 3. COSTS OF EDUCATION AND/OR TRAINING (AT THE “SCHOOL”)

3.1 “School” fees (A) Please indicate in the table below the “school” fees charged per month, per student, for

each student group, for the current “school” year (2006/07). (Note: If for a specific student group the “school” does not charge fees or if the term “school fee” is not applicable, please enter zero)

“School” fee for each group Student Group (in the national currency, per month)

3-6yr olds 7-12yr olds 13-16yr olds 17 -19 yr olds Out-of-school youth group Non-Formal Adult Education group Women’s group Other (Please specify)

(B) Please indicate also the ratio of the total revenue

received from the “school” fees to the running budget of the “school” in the past two years.

3.2 Financial Support for the “school” To what extent is this “school” supported financially by:

(Please circle the numbers in the appropriate boxes below) To a large extent

To some extent

Not at all

(a) students’ parents/guardians’ donations 3 2 1 (b) the local community that the “school” serves 3 2 1 (c) the national network of Islamic “schools” 3 2 1 (d) NGOs locally/nationally 3 2 1 (e) International funding agencies/donors? 3 2 1 (f) Government subvention 3 2 1

Year Ratio of the school fees to the running budget

2004/05 2005/06



Section 4. THE “SCHOOL” CURRICULUM

4.1 (A) Is teaching-learning at the “school” organised along the lines indicated in the following diagram?

The organisation of the 3 to 6 year olds 7 to 12 year olds in the Lower Basic/

13 to 16 year olds in the Upper Basic/

17 to 19 year olds in the Senior

Not specified by age and/or level

student groups Primary School or equivalent setting

Junior Secondary School or equivalent setting

Secondary School or equivalent setting

Yes No N/A Yes No N/A Yes No N/A Yes No N/A Yes No N/A Along Mono-grade lines

(single grade) 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0

Along Multi-grade lines (mixed grades) 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0

Along Multi-class lines * 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 Along Mixed age lines 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 Along Double-shift

schooling lines 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0

Other (please specify) 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 [Key: NA = Not Applicable

* the term “multi-class” means “more than one class sharing a classroom” because of lack of space during the same teaching period]

(B) What is the language predominantly used as the medium of instruction/ communication for the student groups indicated in this table? Student Groups

3 to 6 year

7 to 12 year olds in Lower Basic/ Primary School or equivalent setting

13 to 16 year olds in Upper Basic/ Junior Secondary

School or equivalent setting

17 to 19 year olds in Senior Secondary School or

equivalent setting Not

specified Language Predominantly olds Year /Grade Year /Grade Year /Grade by age and

Used 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th /or level The official language of the

country 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

The predominant language of the local area 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

Arabic 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 Other (Please specify) 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

(C) How many hours of formal teaching/learning are time-tabled, per week, for the study of the subjects listed below?



No. of teaching/learning hours allocated per week, per subject, at this “school” for each Year/Grade

“SCHOOL” SUBJECTS

7 to 12 year olds in Lower Basic/ Primary School

or equivalent setting

13 to 16 year olds in Upper Basic/ Junior Secondary School

or equivalent setting

17 to 19 year olds in Senior Secondary School or

equivalent setting Not

specified Year /Grade Year /Grade Year /Grade by age and 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th /or level

The official language of the country The predominant language of the area Another language other than Arabic Mathematics Social & Environmental Studies Science & Health Agriculture Rational Sciences (e.g. Logic, philosophy)

Islamic Studies Woodwork Metalwork Home Economics Technical Drawing Arts & Crafts Physical Education Music (e.g. through singing) Arabic Other subjects (please specify The list of other subjects taught at this “school”, by Year/ Grade/ Age/ Level)

4.2 The Skills Component of the curriculum



With regard to the preparation that this “school’s” students need for later life and/or for work, indicate below how widely the following skills and related knowledge are covered in the programmes that this “school” offers for each age group. (Please circle the numbers in the appropriate boxes below)

THE SKILLS AND The extent to which the skills are covered in the programmes

RELATED KNOWLEDGE for 3 to 6 year olds for 7 to 12 year olds for 13 to 16 year olds for 17 to 19 year olds Not specified by age or level

1. Life Skills Education Widely Fairly widely

Not at all Widely Fairly

widely Not at

all Widely Fairly widely


widely Not at all Widely Fairly widely

Not at all

(a) Population studies 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1

(b) Functional budgeting for the household 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1

(c) Studies of HIV/AIDS issues 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1

(d) Studies of Peace building and tolerance 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1

(e) Studies of gender equity 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1

2. Skills for employment (a) Functional literacy in the

country’s official language 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1

(b) Functional literacy in another language (other than Arabic)

3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1

(c) Functional Mathematics 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1

(d) Computer literacy 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1

(e) Scientific literacy 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1



4.2 (continued from the previous page)

THE SKILLS AND The extent to which the skills are covered in the programmes

RELATED KNOWLEDGE for 3 to 6 year olds for 7 to 12 year olds for 13 to 16 year olds for 17 to 19 year olds Not specified by age or level

3. Skills for improving income earning activities

Widely Fairly widely


widely Not at

all Widely Fairly widely


widely Not at all Widely Fairly widely

Not at all

(a) Small business management (e.g. financial accounting, credit management)

3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1

(b) Non-farm skills in support of agricultural development 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1

(c) Use of locally available resources 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1

4. Enterprising skills (a) Thinking creatively 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 (b) Information gathering and

processing 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1

(c) Marketing 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1

(d) Developing business ideas 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 (e) Economic and industrial

understanding 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1

5. Other skills (a) Personal skills (e.g.

developing effective social relationships, working with others, concern for others)

3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1

(b) Learning skills (e.g. how to learn independently, how to assess evidence)

3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1

(c) Operational skills (e.g. problem-solving, decision-making)

3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1



4.3 Vocational Training

(a) Subject Areas Does the curriculum provision at this “School” include the option (for various groups of students) to pursue a Vocational Training programme (either as such or alongside the Core curriculum)?

Not Student Groups Yes No Applicable

Upper Basic/ Junior Secondary School Groups 1 2 0 Out-of-school Youth Groups 1 2 0 Non-Formal Adult Education Groups 1 2 0 Women’s Groups 1 2 0

If Yes: Please indicate in the table below the subject area(s) in which vocational training is

provided.

The Subject area(s) in which vocational training is provided Yes No Engineering 1 2 Construction 1 2 Business 1 2 Health and Social Care 1 2 Retail 1 2 Distribution 1 2 Travel and Tourism 1 2 Hospitality and Catering 1 2

Others (Please specify) ………………………………………………………………………………………

(b) Vocational Training for Women and for Girls

With regard to the vocational training provided at this “school”, Yes No N/A(a) is there a programme for women for training in advanced skills

(such as those for instructors and supervisors)? 1 2 0

(b) is there a formal system for introducing girls to male-dominated technical subjects (such as Engineering and Construction)? 1 2 0

[Key: NA = Not Applicable] 4.4 Curriculum Innovation

Is the present curriculum for this “school” the outcome of a curriculum innovation which aimed to bring this “school’s” programmes in line with those offered by the State / Central Government under its current Education Policy?

If Yes, (A) Did the “school” authorities seek the views of local parents /guardians, the

leaders of the community that the “school” serves locally and former students, about: Don’t Yes No Know N/A (a) the stated objectives of the curriculum innovation 1 2 3 0 (b) how the innovation would be undertaken 1 2 3 0 (c) the concurrent effects on the organisation of the 1 2 3 0

whole “school”? [Key: NA = Not Applicable]

Not Yes No Applicable

1 2 0



(B) Did the following collaborate with the “school” teachers and other “school” staff who undertook that curriculum innovation: Don’t Yes No Know N/A (a) the local Islamic scholars/authorities 1 2 3 0 (b) the parents/guardians 1 2 3 0 (c) the leaders of the community that the “school”

serves locally 1 2 3 0

(d) officials of the Ministry /Department of State (for Education). 1 2 3 0

(e) local NGOs (or other private sector agencies) 1 2 3 0 (f) International Development Agencies/

bodies/donors (such as the World Bank) 1 2 3 0

Others (Please specify) [Key: NA = Not Applicable] ……………………………………………………………………………………

(C) By whom were the specifics of the Curriculum innovation (such as the content of the new curriculum, its pattern and its management) laid down? Not Yes No Sure N/A (a) the relevant Ministry /Department of State 1 2 3 0 (b) the “School” Authorities 1 2 3 0 (c) the Programme leaders 1 2 3 0 Others (Please specify) [Key: NA = Not Applicable]

……………………………………………………………………………………

(D) How much discretion does the “School” have with regard to implementing the core of the new curriculum? A lot Quite a

lot Little Very little None

5 4 3 2 1 Please give examples of discretion, if any …………………………………………………………………………………………

4.5 Extra-curricular activities

Are there opportunities for your students to participate in extra-curricular activities, such as the following: Yes No N/A

(a) Sports (of various kinds) 1 2 0 (b) “School” Clubs 1 2 0 (c) Charity work? 1 2 0


4.6 “School” support for students

Does the “school” offer caring support for students who have “problems” that are related to the following (in addition to any support given in connection with their formal education): Yes No N/A

(a) their homes 1 2 0 (b) their financial situations 1 2 0 (c) law and order 1 2 0 (d) their religious faith? 1 2 0




Section 5. THE “SCHOOL’S” EXTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS

5.1 The “School” — Community links (A) Is the “School” responding to the needs of the Community (that it serves) through the

following (in addition to offering education and training programmes): Yes No N/A (a) providing Counselling Services 1 2 0 (b) launching/participating in programmes for poverty alleviation

locally 1 2 0

(c) undertaking awareness raising campaign(s) about gender equity 1 2 0

(d) providing ICT services 1 2 0 (e) offering Sports facilities 1 2 0 (f) offering living accommodation to its teachers? 1 2 0

Others (Please specify) 1 2 0 …………………………………………………………… [Key: NA = Not Applicable]

If Yes for any of these, Please specify

………………………………………………………………. ………………………………………………………………. …………………………………………………….................

(B) Does the “school” monitor its relationships with the community

(that it serves) through: Yes No N/A(a) local surveys of the communities’ views 1 2 0 (b) feedback from the “school’s” former students 1 2 0 (c) informal individual meetings with stakeholders? 1 2 0

[Key: NA = Not Applicable] (C) Is there a consultative body (such as a Governing Body or a Council)

in authority at the “school”? Yes No N/A I 2 0

[Key: NA = Not Applicable] If Yes :

(a) are the following represented on that body: Yes No (i) Islamic scholars 1 2 (ii) The wider Community 1 2 (iii) Parents /Guardians 1 2 (iv) Business /Industry 1 2 (v) Central Government 1 2 (vi) Local Government 1 2 (vii) NGOs locally? 1 2

Others (Please specify) 1 2 ……………………………………………………………………………..……

(b) What is the gender composition of that body? No. of Males No. of Females

5.2 Islamic Education Networks

Has this “school” established professional links with the following: Yes No N/A (a) other Islamic “schools” locally 1 2 0 (b) other educational institutions locally 1 2 0 (c) regional/ national Islamic “schools” 1 2 0 (d) Islamic “schools” in other countries 1 2 0 (e) Employment Agencies locally 1 2 0 (f) the Voluntary sector locally? 1 2 0 (g) International Bodies (e.g. UNICEF) 1 2 0

Others (Please specify) 1 2 0 ……………………………………………………………………….[Key: NA = Not Applicable]



Section 6. PROFESSIONAL STAFF DEVELOPMENT

The delivery of programmes at this “School” requires staff who are professionally trained, and possess up-to-date knowledge of their subject specialisms.

6.1 Staff establishment

(A) Please indicate in the table below the respective numbers of professionally qualified and unqualified teaching staff currently employed at the “school”. [Note: As used here the term “professionally qualified” means having a College or

University Certificate/Diploma in Education.]

Terms of

No. of qualified teachers employed at

the “School”

No. of unqualified teachers employed

at the “School”

Total Full-Time teaching

Total Part-time teaching

Employment Male Female Male Female staff staff Full-Time

Part-Time (B) Has it been difficult in the past three years to get professionally

qualified teachers to fill vacancies for various subject areas? Yes No 1 2

If Yes : Name the subject area(s) for which it has been difficult to recruit

professionally qualified teachers at the “school”. ……………………………………………………………………………. …………………………………………………………………………….

6.2 In-Service training

In the past three years, how many of the teachers at this “school” have attended Staff Development courses (such as those for up-grading the teachers’ skills for developing their own teaching-learning materials, for classroom management, and so on)?

The Sponsors of the teachers

Types of courses attended

No. of teachers

who attended

The “School”

Central Government

Other National Agencies

International Agencies/

Bodies

courses Yes no yes no yes no yes no College of Education–based courses

1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2

University–based courses 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2

In-house (“School”-based) courses

1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2

Others (Please specify) …………………………….

1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2

Thank you for completing this questionnaire. Please hand it back to the researcher.



INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR MANAGERS/ HEADTEACHERS /PRINCIPALS /DIRECTORS of MADRASSAS OR OTHER

QURANIC SCHOOLING CENTRES (QSCs) and SETTINGS

[Notes for the Interviewer: Please: (a) ensure well in advance of the interview that the “school” authorities understand the

aim of this project and have: (i) given their consent for this first interview (ii) set aside a quiet room for the interview (iii) allocated one hour or so for this purpose

(b) explain to the interviewee that: (i) the word “School” is used here for convenience sake (ii) the aim of this first interview is to reflect on a number of issues, some of which

were raised in the Self-Completion Questionnaire (iii) you may need to interview him/her again in order to clarify further some issues (iv) you also need to interview other stakeholders, such as, the local Community

leaders and key members of the teaching staff, the School Management Committee, and the Parent-Teachers’ Association,

(d) you may frame the questions in this guide as appropriate in the context of this “school”, but you should ask all the questions, including, importantly, the PROBE questions

(e) ensure that you bring enough writing paper and a spare pen for the interview ] 1. The Education Policy of the Islamic Education System for Basic Education

and/or Non-Formal Education offered at the “school”.

1.1 Can I ask you:

What is the purpose of the policy? PROBE: Is the purpose one of promoting: • Islamic Education (in the country)?

• the Non-Formal Education sector?

1.2 How would you describe your approach to ensuring that this purpose is well served by the Islamic Education System?

PROBE: Is it: (a) a market-driven approach?(i.e one based on the idea that the market for education locally

should be left to its own devices with minimal intervention by the Islamic Education Authority; and also that Parents/Guardians should have the power to choose the “schools” that suit their needs and to insist on high standards in education)

(b) one of control? (i.e. one based on the idea that the Islamic Education Authority has a duty to provide strong direction centrally and to impose a national curriculum)

1.4 What factors (if any) have contributed most to serving this purpose? PROBE: was it advocacy, research evidence, networking?

2. About the administration of the Islamic Education System (at Basic and Non-

Formal Education levels)



2.1 In what way(s) does the Central Government encourage/ support the provision of such education?

PROBE: e.g. is it through:

• specific grants to the providing institutions

• subsidising programmes of study?

2.2 (a) How does the “school” market educational opportunities to targeted groups such as:

• Women

• ethnic minorities?

(b) Can you tell briefly of any success story in connection with your marketing approach

2.3 What strategies have been used for increasing enrolment at your “school”?

PROBE: e.g: Can I ask you whether the following strategies have been used and, if so, what has been the effect:

• the adoption of a double shift system

• the employment of better qualified teachers

• the increase in the supply of places in post-primary education

• the education of parents/ guardians? 3. About the funding of the “school”

3.1 Have the private financial contributions to your “school” varied over the last 5 years or so, or have they been constant?

PROBE the ways in which the different types of contribution, such as the following must have varied:

• Students’ parents/guardians donations

• The contributions of the national network of Islamic “schools”

• The contributions of International funding agencies/donors? 4. About the quality of the education provided at the “school”

The next issue about which I would welcome your views is the quality of education

provided at the “school”.

4.1 What are the indicators of quality that you use for determining the quality of the education that you provide?

PROBE: [Note for the Interviewer: Select the questions that are relevant in this “school’s” context) Can I just check? Are the following used: (a) (i) The respective percentages of students who complete each cycle successfully (by gender,

socio-economic status, ethnic group) every year, in recent years. (ii) (To the interviewer: for the QSCs ask the percentage who successfully memorise the

Koran, every year, in recent years.)



(b) (i) The percentage of students who progress from one cycle to another (by gender, socio-economic status, ethnic group) every year, in recent years.

(ii) (To the interviewer: for the QSCs ask the percentage who progress to a higher level, every year, in recent years.)

4.2 What is this “school’s” over-riding aim of education (in broad terms)?

PROBE: e.g. is it an aim to: • Prepare for effective citizenship • Develop students’ self-reliance (e.g. for self-employment) • Adhere to the “school’s” traditional mandate (which is to teach the Koran) • help students to grow towards rational, personal, independence/autonomy about moral issues?

4.3 Is the present curriculum relevant to this country’s need for a well-educated workforce? If so, PROBE: Can I check: Is it relevant to: (i) The way of life in:

• rural areas (e.g. to farming, fishing, local governance)

• urban areas (e.g. to environmental protection and sanitation, income-generation)

(ii) Further and /or continuing formal education)? (iii) The development of leadership skills? (iv) Social integration? (v) The knowledge, Skills and Attitudes that employers have identified as important at the

workplace.

5. About community participation in the Islamic Education System

I would like now to explore a different issue. Can I ask you:

5.1 Is the “community” that you serve participating in the running of the “school”/ PROBE: In what ways ? i.e. What form does community participation take locally? PROBE: Is there:

• a School-Community Council

• a School-Community planning group?

5.2 Is community participation a condition for financial support from: • Central Government • Students’ parents/ guardians • The local Community • International funding agencies /donors?

5.3 Can I just check: Can you recall any issue that has been addressed and resolved through some form of



Community participation, for example: • a Staffing issue • a Budgetary issue?

6. The organisational culture

6.1 Can I ask you: are the “school” staff on the whole committed to this “school’s” vision of education? PROBE: If yes, • Can you describe how you have managed to fashion the “school” into such a committed

collective whole?

6.2 What are the key educational values that underpin the “school’s” educational and training programmes?

PROBE: Would you say that the following are valued? (a) the cultural and disciplinary heritage of which the Islamic Education authorities are a custodian (b) Students’ participation in evaluating their programmes of study (c) Students’ subject knowledge being given priority over their personal development (d) The role of education in helping to solve the problem of social inequality (e) The role of vocational training in meeting the requirement of the labour market for a competent

workforce (in quantity and quality) (f) The emphasis on transferable “core skills” (such as Communication, IT and Literacy) (g) New approaches to teaching and learning for the development of skills in students. (h) Education as a force for social change (through enabling people to address critically the

prevailing social norms)

6.3 Are there clear behaviour codes in place for the students in the “school”? PROBE: • Does every student know what behaviour is expected of him/her? • What are the sanctions for students’ misbehaviour?

Many thanks for your participation in the present study

A synthesis of studies of Madrassas and other Quranic ... of studies 2007_11_30 reworked .pdf · A...

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