Education and Power in Pakistan: Comparative Analysis of Public, Private, and Madrasa Systems and Their Role in Shaping Political Awareness and Democratic Governance
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55737/qjss.vi-i.25334Keywords:
Political Awareness, Educational Systems, Governance, Curriculum Reform, Civic EngagementAbstract
Our understanding of politics and how they work is shaped by the education we receive. This study looks at how people in Pakistan are sorted through various education systems, including public, private, and madrassah which produce disparate political outcomes and reveal the country's differences in wealth and resources. Using information about coursework, teaching methods, and students' economic conditions, the study points out how each system supports political education, active citizenship, and interest in democracy. At public schools, the idea of citizenship is mainly presented from a state viewpoint; private institutions reflect the ideas of the country's political elites; and madrassahs highlight religious political views. These approaches cause separate parts of society to stand apart and have unique effects on Pakistan's political system. The paper suggests an urgent need for the curriculum to be updated by including everyone and representing a balance, to prepare citizens who are aware and take part in democracy.
References
Abu-Nimer, M., & Kadayifci, A. (2011). Human rights and building peace: the case of Pakistani madrasas. The International Journal of Human Rights, 15(7), 1136–1159. https://doi.org/10.1080/13642987.2010.535492
Afaq, U. (2024). The Role of Islamic Schools in Pakistan's Education System. Jahan-e-Tahqeeq, 7(1), 1344-1356. https://jahan-e-tahqeeq.com/index.php/jahan-e-tahqeeq/article/view/1416
Ahmed, N. (2021). Concept of Education in Islam and the role of Madrassah: Short History of Madrassah and Militancy in Pakistan. Technium Soc. Sci. J., 19, 106. https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/techssj19&div=10&id=&page=
Ali, S. (2009). Governing education policy in a globalizing world: The sphere of authority of the Pakistani State. https://era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/5800
Ali, S. (2016). The sphere of authority: governing education policy in Pakistan amidst global pressures. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 15(2), 217–237. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2015.1127575
Bakar, M. A. (2017). Rethinking madrasah education in a globalised world. Routledge. https://api.taylorfrancis.com/v4/content/books/mono/download?identifierName=isbn&identifierValue=9781315184234&type=previewpdf
Bano, M. (2007). Contesting ideologies and struggle for authority: State-madrasa engagement in Pakistan. http://epapers.bham.ac.uk/1566/
Bano, M. (2011). Co-Producing with FBOs: lessons from state–madrasa engagement in the Middle East and South Asia. Third World Quarterly, 32(7), 1273–1289. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2011.596751
Bano, M. (2012). The rational believer: Choices and decisions in the madrasas of Pakistan. Cornell University Press.
Bano, M. (2013). Madrasas as partners in education provision: The South Asian experience. In Achieving Education for All through Public–Private Partnerships? (pp. 82–94). Routledge. https://api.taylorfrancis.com/content/chapters/edit/download?identifierName=doi&identifierValue=10.4324/9781315879383-7&type=chapterpdf
Billquist, D. L., & Colbert, J. M. (2006). Pakistan, Madrassas, and Militancy [PhD Thesis, Citeseer]. https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=cf86dfb5d3785455cdd7bdd0636568ea4d9a242e
Fair, C. C. (2008). The madrassah challenge: Militancy and religious education in Pakistan. United States Institute of Peace Press Washington, DC. https://www.academia.edu/download/50775144/The_Madrassah_Challenge_Militancy_and_Re20161207-14079-1rdyl2z.pdf
Jabbar, N., & Ali, U. (2019). Education as self-government: the Minhaj Education Society’s answer to managing violence in Pakistan. Postcolonial Studies, 22(4), 523–544. https://doi.org/10.1080/13688790.2019.1697414
Kidwai, H. (2015). Postcolonial challenges to madrassa education reform in India: Bureaucracy, politics, resistance, and cooptation [PhD Thesis]. Teachers College, Columbia University. https://search.proquest.com/openview/4351e68d5919e58b6f57739fd69c5e0f/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750
Lall, M. (2014). Engaging the youth – citizenship and political participation in Pakistan. Commonwealth & Comparative Politics, 52(4), 535–562. https://doi.org/10.1080/14662043.2014.959288
Lall, M., & Saeed, T. (2019). Youth and the national narrative: Education, terrorism and the security state in Pakistan. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Malik, J. (2006). Madrasah in South Asia. The Blackwell Companion to Contemporary Islamic Thought. Basingstoke: Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203936573
Malik, N. (2024). Guns better than education: political economy of defence, radical education policies, textbooks, and teachers’ outlook in Pakistan. Journal of Education Policy, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2024.2419665
Munir, F. (2015). Understanding the Role of Education in Promoting Violence and Terrorism in Pakistan. Munin.uit.no. https://doi.org/Fulltext%20http://www.ub.uit.no/munin/bitstream/10037/8122/2/thesis.pdf
Nasser, A., Kyriazi, T., Paris, C. M., & Ahmad, M. (2017). Impact of identity politics on education in Pakistan: A comparison between Balochistan and Punjab. Education, Citizenship and Social Justice, 13(3), 280–294. https://doi.org/10.1177/1746197917743954
Pasha, A. (2022). Examining Global Education Discourses in Social Studies Textbooks in Pakistan [PhD Thesis, UCL (University College London)]. https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10146525/
Qurban, S. (2024). Education policy and the construction of neo-liberal citizenship in Pakistan: Revisiting the Musharraf Era, 1999-2008. Taylor & Francis.
Rahman, K. (2009). Madrassas in Pakistan: Role and emerging trends. Islam and Politics, 120, 57-70. https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/resrep10936.10.pdf
Rao, N., & Hossain, M. I. (2011). Confronting poverty and educational inequalities: Madrasas as a strategy for contesting dominant literacy in rural Bangladesh. International Journal of Educational Development, 31(6), 623–633. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2011.01.012
Rauf, A., Muhammad, Y., & Saeed, A. (2021). Citizenship rights and responsibilities in history textbooks of elite schools in Pakistan: A qualitative content analysis. Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan, 58(2), 235.
Rauf, A., Muhammad, Y., & Waqar, Y. (2023). Developing responsible elites: A qualitative content analysis of history textbooks of elite schools in pakistan. Journal of Educational Research and Social Sciences Review (JERSSR), 3(2), 95-104. https://www.jerssr.org.pk/ojs/index.php/jerssr/article/view/207
Ray, R. S. (2006). Pakistan education systems and the radical Islamic jihadist ideology [PhD Thesis, Citeseer]. https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=bd5e934f601b429a39bd045be38fda7d78d7b82b
Razzaq, J. (2012). The management of educational change in Pakistani educational institutions [PhD Thesis, University of Glasgow]. https://theses.gla.ac.uk/3216/
Riaz, A. (2008). Faithful education: Madrassahs in South Asia. Rutgers University Press.
Sattar, A. (2023). Community Engagement in Madrassa Governance: An Analytical Study. Harf-o-Sukhan, 7(4), 331-345.
Shah, S. A. A. (2011). The Role of Madrassahs (Islamic Seminaries) in the Politics of Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Criminology, 3(1). http://www.pjcriminology.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2-21.pdf
Siddikoglu, H. (2018). The Nexus between Madrasa and Politics: Analysing Political role of Madrasas in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Jurnal Islam Dan Masyarakat Kontemporari, 19, 91–111. https://doi.org/10.37231/jimk.2018.19.0.285
Sikand, Y. (2005). Bastions of the believers: Madrasas and Islamic education in India. Penguin Books India.
Tahir, I. (2022). Decolonizing Madrassa Reform in Pakistan. Current Issues in Comparative Education, 24(1). https://doi.org/10.52214/cice.v24i1.8853
Talat, K. (2013). Degenerated madrassas and leadership crisis in South Asia A critical study of madrassas in Pakistan. University of Phoenix. https://search.proquest.com/openview/42a9f6e51a03cbdc7e1b82af5d903d8f/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750
Winthrop, R., & Graff, C. (2010). Beyond Madrasas: Assessing the Links Between Education and Militancy in Pakistan. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1629254
Yaqub, Z. (2019). Power and knowledge nexus: case study of pakistan.
Zafar, Z., & Ali, S. (2018). Education system of Pakistan: social functions and challenges. Journal of Indian Studies, 4(01), 31-51. https://jis.pu.edu.pk/44/article/view/870
