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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
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 7
Studies
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 10
cross-nationally and for the Synthesis of the research findings
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 16
Schooling Centres
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 75
content
6.3.2 Leadership training for the Managers of Madrassas and for those of 76
other Quranic Schooling Centres
6.3.3 The introduction of Vocational subjects in the school curriculum in 79
Gambia
6.3.4 The Training and Professional Development of Teachers of all levels in 80
Madrassas and other QSCs
6.3.5 Piloting two experimental projects (one in a reformed Madrassa 81
and one in a Daara), in Sénégal.

References 82

APPENDIX 1 Questionnaire For Managers/ Headteachers/Principals /Directors of 87


Madrassas or other Quranic Schooling Centres /Settings
APPENDIX 2 Interview Guide For Managers/ Headteachers /Principals /Directors 101
of Madrassas or other Quranic Schooling Centres (QSCs) and
Settings

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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

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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.

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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.?

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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
School Country “Schools”
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.

Synthesis of studies 2007_11_30 reworked .doc 8


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.

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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.

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(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

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(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 Components
of the System
The data analyses in each country

The (a) Analysis of the


Governance The Education Policy for
Discourse the “schools”
and

The Cross -National Analysis


Analysis (b) Analysis of the
Administration
organisational culture

The Case Study Analysis


Component

Analysis of the data about: e.g.


(a) the development, pattern,
content, management,
and reform of the
curriculum
The Curriculum (b) access to “schools”
Development The
(c) the assessment of
Curriculum
and learners’ achievements
Analysis
Implementation (d) other curriculum-related
Component issues (e.g. equity with
regard to gender)

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

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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

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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

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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

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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
Synthesis of studies 2007_11_30 reworked .doc 16
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

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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


Programmes at the New Islamic Schools
Islamic/Quranic Schools
At the Quranic At the At the
Schools (other At the Modernised Reformed At the Bilingual
than the Madrassas Islamic Islamic Islamic Schools
Madrassas) Schools Schools
The Koran The Koran The Koran The Koran The Koran
The Arabic The Arabic The Arabic
Language (as Language (as Language (as
Medium of Medium of Medium of
instruction) instruction) 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 The Official The Official National Basic
Language of Language of the Language of the Education
the country country country Programme
Occupational
Training
Whole class/ Whole class/
Individual teaching Group teaching
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

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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

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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:
z Six years of primary school education.
z Three years of preparatory secondary school education
z Four years of secondary school education
z 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.

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

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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

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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 Rural Urban Type of Rural Urban
Sub-total Sub-total
“School” Area Area “School” Area Area
Privately owned 9 14 23 Privately owned 0 5 5
Madrassas

Madrassas

Community 15 11 26 Community 0 0 0
Government 0 0 0 Government 4 6 10
Other 0 0 0 Other 0 0 0
Sub-total 24 26 50 Sub-total 4 11 15
Privately owned 9 8 17 Privately owned 3 8 11
Community 2 4 6 Community 0 0 0
QSCs

QSCs

Government 0 0 0 Government 0 0 0
Other 0 0 0 Other 12 11 23
Sub-total 11 12 23 Sub-total 15 19 34
Grand Total 73 Grand Total 49
Mali Sénégal
Type of Rural Urban Type of Rural Urban
Sub-total Sub-total
“School” Area Area “School” Area Area
Privately owned 4 7 11 Privately owned 5 23 28
Madrassas

Madrassas

Community 1 0 1 Community 0 0 0
Government 0 0 0 Government 0 0 0
Other 0 0 0 Other 0 0 0
Sub-total 5 7 12 Sub-total 5 23 28
Privately owned 4 4 8 1
Privately owned 12 13
Community 0 0 0 Community 0 0 0
QSCs

QSCs

Government 0 0 0 Government 0 0 0
Other 0 1 1 Other 0 0 0
Sub-total4 5 9 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 ]

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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 MALI NIGER SENEGAL
Size of “School” (N=73) (N=21) (N=49) (N=41)
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

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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.

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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
Madrassas (N=50)

10,004 6,845 16,849 0.90


2003/4 (59.4%) (40.6%) (100%)
0.69
0.85

0.80
10,846 7,564 18,410
2004/5 (58.9%) (41.1%) (100%)
0.70 0.75 0.72
0.70
0.70
0.68

12,119 8,765 20,884 0.65


2005/6 (58.0%) (42.0%) (100%)
0.72 2003/4 2004/5 2005/6

Fig:II GR for other QSCs by Year

977 744 1,721 0 .9 0 0.87


2003/4 (56.8%) (42.2%) (100%)
0.76
QSCs (N=23)

0 .8 5

0 .8 0 0.76
1,017 880 1,897
2004/5 (53.6%) (46.4%) (100%)
0.87 0 .75 0.72

0 .70

1,215 878 2,093 0 .6 5


2005/6 (58.1%) (41.9%) (100%)
0.72 2 0 0 3 /4 2004/5 2 0 0 5/6

Number of students in MALI Gender Ratio (GR)


Year Male Female Total GR Fig:III GR for Madrassas by Year
Madrassas (N=12)

3516 1881 0.65


0.62
2003/4 5,397 0.53
(65.1%) (34.9%)
0.60 0.58

0.53
2004/5 3,837 2,217 6354 0.58
0.55

(60.4%) (34.9%)
0.50

2005/6 4,440 2,751 7251 0.62


0.45
2003/ 4 2004/ 5 2005/ 6
(61.2%) (37.9%)

Fig:IV GR for other QSCs by Year

2003/4 1,589 382 1,589 0.32 0 .4 0


(76.0%) (24.0%)
Q SCs (N=9)

0 .3 5
0.32
0.30
2004/5 1,360 314 1,674 0.23
0 .3 0
(81.2%) (18.8%)
0 .2 5 0.23

1,429 422 1,85 0 .2 0


2005/6 0.30 2003/4 2 0 0 4 /5 2 0 0 5/6
(77.2%) (22.8%)

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Number of students in NIGER Gender Ratio (GR)
Year Male Female Total GR Fig:V GR for Madrassas by Year
Madrassas (N=15)

1819 1,251 3,070 0.80


2003/4 59.3%
0.69 0.75
40.7% 100%
0.69
0.70
0.64
4,042 2,595 6,637
2004/5 60.9%
0.64
39.1% 100% 0.60

5,686 4,276 9,962 0.50


2005/6 0.75
57.1% 42.9% 100% 2003/4 2004/5 2005/6

Fig:VI GR for other QSCs by Year

1,108 1,763 2,871 1.80 1.77


2003/4 1.59
Q SCs (N=34)

38.6% 61.4% 100% 1.72


1.70

1,307 2,254 3,561


2004/5 1.72 1.59
36.7% 63.3% 100% 1.60

2,458 4,349 6,807 1.50


2005/6 1.77 2003/4 2004/5 2005/6
36.1% 63.9% 100%

Number of students in SÉNÉGAL Gender Ratio (GR)


Year Male Female Total GR Fig:VII GR for Madrassas by Year

1562 1058 2620


Madrassas (N= 28)

2003/4 (59.6%) 0.68


(40.4%) (100%)
1.70

1275 1045 2320


2004/5 (55.0%) 0.82 1.50
(45.0%) (100%) 1.38

1.30
1505 2075 3580
2005/6 1.38
(42.0%) (58.0%) (100%)
1.10

0.90 0.82

0.68
0.70
[Note: the enrolment data for the QSCs in Sénégal
were not available]
0.50
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.

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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

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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:

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(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)

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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
7 to-12 yr olds (Grades 1 to 6) in Lower Basic/ Primary 13 to 16 yr olds (Grades7 to 9) in Upper BasicJunior
Level
School or equivalent setting Secondary School or equivalent setting
Subject Areas Country GAMBIA MALI NIGER GAMBIA MALI NIGER
Range of M Q M Q M Q M Q M Q M Q
allotted time N=50 N=23 (N=12) (N=9) N=14 N=35 N=50 N=23 (N=12) (N=9) N=14 N=35
Max: in hrs 120.0 51.0 5.0 28.0 60.0 33.0 3.0 9.0
Average in hrs 33.3 26.9 5.0 8.2 18.6 17.0 3.0 9.0
Islamic Studies Min: in hrs 2.8 2.1 5.0 .75 3.1 1.3 3.0 9.0
(n) 46 13 12 0 10 31 13 3 0 4
Max: in hrs 37.0 42.0 5.0 90.0 12.0 3 14.0
Official Average in hrs 13.1 21.5 5.0 51.5 30.0 7.4 3 12.5
Languages

Language Min: in hrs 1.5 1.0 5.0 7.0 2.3 3 5.0


(n) 43 2 12 0 10 1 28 0 3 0 6
Max: in hrs 100.0 60.0 67.5 180.0 90.0 40.0 60.0 21.0 105.0 15.0
Average in hrs 26.2 24.7 39.1 62.0 61.5 53.0 15.3 22.9 21.0 36.2 15.0 15.0
Core Subject Areas

Arabic Min: in hrs 3.0 6.0 9.0 3.0 18.0 2.3 3.0 21.0 1.75 15.0
(n) 46 6 12 3 8 1 30 6 3 3 5 1
Max: in hrs 60.0 24.0 30.0 50.0 22.0 12.0 16 15.0
Other Core Subject Areas

Average in hrs 13.5 21.0 22.0 17.6 5.0 8.0 10.5 15.3 10.7
Maths: Min: in hrs 1.9 18.0 9.0 6.0 2.2 9.0 15 5.0
(n) 48 2 12 0 10 1 30 2 3 0 6 0
Max: in hrs 36.0 12.0 6.0 7.0 18.0 6.0
Science & Average in hrs 11.7 6.7 6.0 4.0 5.56 3.7
Health Min: in hrs 1.5 2.0 6.0 1.0 2.3 2.0
(n) 38 3 2 0 2 0 23 3 0 0 0 0
Max: in hrs 28.0 24.0 42.0 11.5 24.0 12.0
Social & Average in hrs 9.2 21.0 12.8 8.7 5.6 10.5 7.0
Enviro: Min: in hrs 1.0 18.0 3.0 2.0 2.3 9.0
Studies (n) 38 2 4 0 6 0 24 2 0 0 1 0
Max: in hrs 24.0 7.2 20.0 17.0 12.0 6.0 6.0
Technical/Business Average in hrs 6.0 7.1 9.6 3.0 5.9 6.0 5.7 6.0
Subject Areas * Min: in hrs 1.3 7.0 4.2 2.3 3.0 5.0 6.0
(n) 12 2 11 0 1 0 6 3 3 0 5 0
Max: in hrs 25.0 19.5 15.0 72.0 13.0 9.8 6.0 6.0
Peripheral Subject Areas Average in hrs 8.5 10.8 6.9 15.6 4.1 6.7 5.0 5.17
** Min: in hrs 1.5 3.0 2.7 2.7 0.8 2.0 3.0 1.0
(n) 32 6 11 0 3 0 18 3 3 0 6 0

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Table 4.4: (continued):
Average No. of allocated contact hours, per week, per Subject Area
17 to 19 yr olds (Grades 10 to 12) in Senior Secondary
Level
School or equivalent setting
Not specified by age and /or level (MATURE)
Subject Areas Country GAMBIA MALI NIGER GAMBIA MALI NIGER
Range of M Q M Q M Q M Q M Q M Q
allotted time N=50 N=23 (N=12) (N=9) N=14 N=35 N=50 N=23 (N=12) (N=9) N=14 N=35
Max: in hrs 39.0 48.0 3.0 9.0 2.0 38.0 3.0 15.0
Average in hrs 15.8 23.8 3.0 7.0 2.0 17.8 2.0 9.5
Islamic Studies Min: in hrs 2.3 6.0 3.0 3.0 2.0 2.0 2.3 5.0
(n) 13 10 1 0 4 2 9 0 0 4 8
Max in hrs 14.0 3.0 26.0 3.8 4.0 4.0
Average in hrs 7.1 3.0 9.0 2.3 2.5 4.0
Languages

Official Language Min in hrs 3.0 3.0 4.0 1.5 1.5 4.0
(n) 13 0 1 0 6 4 3 0 0 4
Max in hrs 36.0 60.0 15.0 105 13.0 4.0 14.0 4.0 30.0
Average in hrs 16.2 26.6 15.0 36.2 9.4 15.0 2.3 6.5 4.0 13.2
Core Subject Areas

Arabic Min in hrs 4.5 9.0 15.0 1.75 5.0 1.5 1.5 4.0 5.0
(n) 12 4 1 3 5 1 3 3 0 0 3 13
Max in hrs 11.0 16.0 2.3 15.0 5.0
Other Core Subject Areas

Average in hrs 5.8 12.0 2.0 9.8 1.6 9.5 4.5 5.0
Maths: Min in hrs 3.0 5.0 1.5 4.0 4.0
(n) 11 1 1 0 6 4 2 0 0 4 1
Max in hrs 13.0 2.3
Average in hrs 5.7 6.0 1.9 1.5
Science & Health Min in hrs 2.0 1.5
(n) 9 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 0
Max in hrs 10.0 12.0 2.3
Social& Enviro: Average in hrs 5.6 6.5 3.0 1.8 1.0
Studies Min in hrs 3.0 1.0 1.5
(n) 9 2 0 0 1 3 1 0 0
Max in hrs 15.0 6.0 2.0
Technical/Business Subject Average in hrs 10.0 4.4 3.0 2.0
Areas Min in hrs 6.0 2.0 2.0
(n) 3 0 0 0 5 1 0 0 3
Max in hrs 17.0 6.0 6.0 7.0 2
Average in hrs 4.5 5.0 4.33 2.2 2
Peripheral Subject Areas Min in hrs 1.0 3.0 2.0 0.8 2
(n) 10 0 3 0 6 6 0 0 0 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 ].

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■ 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

Synthesis of studies 2007_11_30 reworked .doc 33


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


Subject Areas Level and School Designation
Data Upper Basic/ Junior
in Source Lower Basic/ Primary Senior Secondary
Secondary School
GAMBIA School Level
Level
School Level
M(%) Q(%) S(%) M(%) Q(%) S(%) M(%) Q(%) S(%)
Survey 27.5 19.3 26.4 21.9 22.3 31.8
Islamic
Authority 27.0 35.5 51.6
Studies
t
Gov 7.6 7.4
Survey 10.8 15.4 10.5 10.0
Official
Authority 14.5 12.9 9.7
Languages

Language
Govt 15.4 14.8 13.9
CORE SUBJECT AREAS

Survey 21.2 17.7 21.7 29.5 22.9 35.5


Arabic

Authority 30.6 25.9 25.8


t
Gov
Survey 11.1 15.0 11.4 13.6 8.2 16.0
Other Core Subject Areas

Maths. Authority 12.9 9.7 6.5


t
Gov 15.4 14.8 13.9
Survey 9.6 4.8 7.9 4.8 8.1 8.0
Science
& Authority 4.8 6.4 3.2
Health t
Gov 15.4 14.8 11.1
Survey 7.6 15.0 7.9 13.6 7.9 8.7
Social &
Envirt Authority 4.8 9.6 3.2
Studies Govt 15.4 14.8 11.1
Technical/ Survey 5.2 5.1 8.4 7.7 14.1
Business Subject Authority
Areas
Govt 15.4 25.9 44.5
Survey 7.0 7.7 5.8 8.9 6.4
Peripheral
Subject Areas
Authority 4.8
Govt 15.4 7.4 5.5

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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


Subject Areas allocated by Level
in NIGER Lower Basic/ Upper Basic/ Junior Senior
Primary School Secondary School Secondary
Level Level School Level

Islamic Studies 5.2% 13.8% 14.7%

32.5% 10.1% 19.0%


Languages

Official Language
CORE SUBJECT AREAS

Arabic 38.2% 23.0% 21.8%


Other Core Subject Areas

Maths. 11.1% 16.3% 20.7%

Science & Health 2.5% 0.0% 0.0%

Social & Envirt 5.5% 10.7% 6.3%


Studies

Technical/ Business Subject


0.0% 9.2% 8.4%
Areas

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

Synthesis of studies 2007_11_30 reworked .doc 35


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

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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

Synthesis of studies 2007_11_30 reworked .doc 37


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 SÉNÉGAL
Skills Category M Q Total M M Q Total Total
(N=50) (N=23) (N=73) (N=12) (N=15) (N=34) (N=49) (N=41)
Studies of Peace
Building and 25 10 35 10 9 15 23 0
Life Skills

tolerance
Studies of gender
15 9 24 3 5 11 16 0
equity
Functional
Budgeting for the 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 4
household
Functional literacy
13 1 14 8 1 10 11 1
Employment

in the Official
Skills for

Language
Functional
18 1 19 4 4 7 11 0
Mathematics
Computer literacy 3 0 3 0 2 3 5 0
Enterprising

Marketing 0 2 2 2 2 5 7 0
Skills

Developing
1 2 3 2 2 5 7 0
Business ideas
Personal Skills
16 5 21 8 13 28 41 0
(e.g.teamwork)
Other Skills

Learning Skills 20 7 27 6 9 12 21 0
Operational Skills
(eg problem 13 3 16 4 9 10 19 0
solving)
[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

Synthesis of studies 2007_11_30 reworked .doc 38


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

Synthesis of studies 2007_11_30 reworked .doc 39


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)

Student SENEGAL
GAMBIA (N=73) MALI (N=21) NIGER (N=49)
Group (N=41)
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/ 6 0 2 0 3 0 12 1
Upper Basic (18.2%) (0.0%) (33.3%) (0.0%) (23.1%) (0.0%) (50%) (33.3%)
School Group
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, 4 1 2 0 0 11 11 2
or Women’s (12.9%) (12.5%) (33.3%) (0.0%) (0.0%) (50.0%) (47.8%) (50.0%)
groups
[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]

Synthesis of studies 2007_11_30 reworked .doc 40


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)

Synthesis of studies 2007_11_30 reworked .doc 41


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
Grade 6 No. who sat the 1838 1202 1842 1409 165 158 309 269
(Final Year at examination n= 42 n= 42 n=50 n= 50 n=7 n=7 n=10 n=10
Primary/ No. who passed the
1210 781 1210 893 146 136 203 151
Lower Basic examination
School) Pass Rate (%) 65.8% 65.0% 65.7% 63.4% 88.5% 86.1% 65.7% 56.1%
Grade 9 No. who sat the 1194 508 1073 538 287 100 163 83
(Final Year at examination n= 30 n= 27 n= 33 n= 31 n= 3 n= 3 n= 4 n= 4
Junior No. who passed the
1045 443 958 481 68 41 19 5
Secondary examination
/Upper Basic
Pass Rate (%) 87.5% 87.2% 89.3% 89.4% 23.7% 41.0% 11.7% 6.0%
School)
o.
N who sat the 408 141 445 140 10 1 13 6
Grade 12 examination n= 12 n= 10 n= 13 n= 10 n=1 n=1 n=2 n=2
(Final Year at
No. who passed the
Senior 390 129 426 128 0 0 3 2
examination
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
School year 2004/05
2005/06
Male Female Male Female
Grade 6 No. who sat the 335 113 383 135
(Final Year examination n=5 n=4 n=5 n=5
at Primary/ No. who passed the
306 98 264 115
Lower Basic examination
School) Pass Rate (%) 91.3% 86.7% 68.9% 65.2%
Grade 9 No. who sat the 114 37 148 35
(Final Year examination n=3 n=3 n=3 n=
at Junior No. who passed the
110 28 145 34
Secondary examination
/UpperBasic
Pass Rate (%) 98.5% 75.7% 98.0% 97.1%
School)
o.
N who sat the 19 76
Grade 12 examination n=1 n=0 n=1 n=0
(Final Year
No. who passed the 19
at Senior 16
examination
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).

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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.

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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)


Type of Year 2004/05 Year 2005/06
“School” & Rural Area Rural Area
GENDER Total No. GENDER Total No.
Number of Number. of Number. of
of Students of Students
Drop-Outs Males Females “schools” Males Females “schools”
for 2004/05 for 2004/05
Privately 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)


Type of Year 2004/05 Year 2005/06
“School”& Rural Area Rural Area
Number of Gender Number. of Total No. Gender Number. of Total No.
of Students of Students
Drop-Outs Males Females “schools” Males Females “schools”
for 2004/05 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%

Synthesis of studies 2007_11_30 reworked .doc 44


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 MALI SENEGAL
(N = 73) (N=21) (N=41)
Madrassas QSCs Madrassas Madrassas &
(N=50) (N=23) (N=12) QSCs (N=41)
Rural Urban Rural Urban
Sector of employment Urban (n=4) Rural & Urban
(n=12) (n=12) (n=9) (n=4)
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 &
5 9 9 1 0 0
Communication
Public Administration
7 9 9 0 0 0
& Defence
Social & Recreational
9 8 9 1 1 1
Services
Personal Services 7 9 9 0 1 1
Other (e.g domestic
0 3 0 0 1 1
work, self-employment)

Synthesis of studies 2007_11_30 reworked .doc 45


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:
Out-of Other
Student 3-6 yr 7-12 yr 13-16 yr 17-19 yr Women’s
school Adults student
Group olds olds olds olds groups
youth groups
Range of
“School” fees per 100-400 100-5,000 100-5,000 100-2,800 20-400 100-400 100-500 100-200
month, per student
No. of respondent
“schools” 14 23 22 17 24 11 15 4
(N = 49)
[Note: the currency is the CFA; Key: N= the number of sampled “schools” in Niger]

Synthesis of studies 2007_11_30 reworked .doc 46


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
M Q M Q M Q
School Designation (N=50) (N=23) (N=15) (N=34) (N=28) (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

Synthesis of studies 2007_11_30 reworked .doc 47


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
Size of
Average (n=46) = 15 Average (n=11) = 9 Average (n=13) = 11
Councils
Minimum = 3 Minimum = 3 Minimum = 5
Gender No. of All Female 0 No. of All Female 0 No. of All Female 0
Make-up of No. of All Male 9 No. of All Male 10 No. of All Male 2
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
Size of
Average (n=13) = 9 Average (n= 3) = 7 Average (n=14) = 8
Councils
Minimum = 3 Minimum = 2 Minimum = 16
Gender No. of All Female 0 No. of All Female 0 No. of All Female 4
o. o.
Make-up of N of All Male 3 N of All Male 2 No. of All Male 6
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)]

Synthesis of studies 2007_11_30 reworked .doc 48


■ 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.

Synthesis of studies 2007_11_30 reworked .doc 49


■ 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
Synthesis of studies 2007_11_30 reworked .doc 50
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


o.
N of “School” Governing Councils with representation of Islamic Scholars
In Rural In Urban In Rural In Urban In Rural In Urban
Type of School areas areas areas areas areas 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”.

Synthesis of studies 2007_11_30 reworked .doc 51


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
o. o.
N of Professionally Qualified* Managers with N of Professionally Qualified* Managers
Years of Professional Experience ** with Years of Professional Experience **
Less than More than Less than 3 to 15 More than
Gender 3 to 15 years Gender
3 years 15 years 3 years years 15 years
Madrassas

Madrassas
(n=5) (n=22) (n=18) (n=2) (n=7) (n=5)
(N=50)

(N=15)
Male Male
(n=36) 3 18 15 (n=14) 2 7 5
Female Female
(n=1) 0 1 0- (n=0 ) 0 0 0
Sub-total 3 19 15 Sub-total 2 7 5
(n=3) (n=8) (n=10) (n=2) (n=14) (n=16)
Male Male
(n=19) 2 7 10 (n=2) 0 2 0
QSCs

QSCs
(N=23)

(N=34)

Female Female
(n=1) 0 1 0 (n=6) 2 4 0
Sub-total 2 8 10 Sub-total 2 6 0
MALI SÉNÉGAL
o. o.
N of Professionally Qualified* Managers N of Professionally Qualified* Managers
with Years of Professional Experience ** with Years of Professional Experience **
Less than 3 to 15 More than Less than 3 to 15 More than
Gender Gender
Madrassas
Madrassas

3 years years 15 years 3 years years 15 years


(N=28)
(N=12)

(n=3) (n=6) (n=3) (n=2) (n=23) (n=1)


Male Male
(n= 3) 0 2 1
(n=4) 0 4 0
total 0 2 1 total 0 4 0
(n=1) (n=4) (n=4) (n=1) (n=3) (n=9)
(N=13)
QSCs
QSCs
(N=9)

Male Male
(n=2) 0 0 2 (n=7) 0 1 6
total 0 0 2 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

Synthesis of studies 2007_11_30 reworked .doc 52


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

Synthesis of studies 2007_11_30 reworked .doc 53


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 MALI NIGER
Full-Time (FT)teachers in (N=73) (N=21) (N=49)
Madrassas and other QSCs Gender (n=65 ) Gender (n=21) Gender (n=38)
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
Synthesis of studies 2007_11_30 reworked .doc 54
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 The number of “schools” that
sponsored their teachers sponsored their teachers
on College of on In-House on College of on In-House
Type of Education- School-based Type of Education- School-based
School based courses courses School based courses courses
Privately– Privately–
Madrassas

Madrassas
owned (n=23)
3 (13%) 5 (22%) owned (n=5)
0 0

(N=15)
Community(n Community
(N=50)

=26)
6 (23%) 8 (31%) (n=0)
0 0
Government Government
(n=0)
0 0 (n=10)
0 4 (40 %)
Privately– Privately–
0 2 (12%) 0 0
QSCs

QSCs
(N=23)

(N=34)

owned (n=17) owned (n=11)


Community Government
(n=6)
1 (17%) 1 (17%) (n=0)
0 0
Government Other
(n=0)
0 0 (n=23)
0 0

MALI SÉNÉGAL
Privately– Privately–
owned (n=11)
0 10 (91%) owned (n=18)
2 (11%) 8 (44%)
Madrassas

Madrassas

Community Community
0 0 1 (14%) 4 (80%)
(N=12)

(N=28)

(n=1) (n=5)
Government Government
(n=0)
0 0 (n= 2)
0 0
Other Other
(n=0)
0 0 (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
Synthesis of studies 2007_11_30 reworked .doc 55
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.

Synthesis of studies 2007_11_30 reworked .doc 56


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
Rural Urban Rural Urban
Madrassas (N =50)

Madrassas (N=15)
Provision (n=50) Provision (n=15)
(n=24) (n=26) (n=4) (n=11)
Counselling Services 21 26 47 Counselling Services 1 1 2
Poverty Alleviation Poverty Alleviation
21 17 38 1 1 2
Programmes Programmes
Awareness raising Awareness raising
campaigns about gender 22 22 44 campaigns about gender 1 1 2
equity equity
ICT services 9 9 18 ICT services 0 1 1
Sports facilities 3 8 11 Sports facilities 0 1 1
Teachers’ living Teachers’ living
4 6 10 0 2 2
accommodation accommodation
“Schools” Location Total “Schools” Location Total
Rural Urban (n=19)
Rural Urban (n=31)
Provision (n=9) (n=10)
Provision (n=14) (n=17)
(N=34)
QSCs (N=23)

Counselling Services 4 9 13 Counselling Services 5 8 13


Poverty Alleviation Poverty Alleviation
3 3 6 2 4 6
Programmes Programmes
Awareness raising Awareness raising
campaigns about gender 3 6 9 campaigns about gender 2 0 2
QSCs

equity equity
ICT services 2 0 2 ICT services 3 1 4
Sports facilities 1 0 1 Sports facilities 1 0 1
Teachers’ living Teachers’ living
1 0 1 1 0 1
accommodation accommodation

Mali Senegal
“Schools” Location Total “Schools” Location Total
Rural Urban Rural Urban
Madrassas (N =12)

Madrassas (N =28)

Provision (n=11) Provision (n= 28)


(n=5) (n=7) (n=5) (n=23 )
Counselling Services 5 6 11 Counselling Services 0 0 0
Poverty Alleviation Poverty Alleviation
0 1 1 4 15 19
Programmes Programmes
Awareness raising Awareness raising
campaigns about gender 0 0 0 campaigns about gender 1 1 2
equity equity
ICT services 0 0 0 ICT services 3 10 13
Sports facilities 2 2 4 Sports facilities 0 0 0
Teachers’ living Teachers’ living
4 3 7 0 0 0
accommodation accommodation
“Schools” Location Total “Schools” Location Total
Rural Urban Rural Urban
Provision (n=9) Provision (n=13)
(n=4) (n=5) (n=1 ) (n=12 )
(N=13)
(N=9)

Counselling Services 4 5 9 Counselling Services 0 0 0


Poverty Alleviation Poverty Alleviation
2 1 3 1 1 2
Programmes Programmes
Awareness raising Awareness raising
campaigns about gender 0 0 0 campaigns about gender 1 1 2
QSCs

QSCs

equity equity
ICT services 0 0 0 ICT services 0 0 0
Sports facilities 0 0 0 Sports facilities 0 0 0
Teachers’ living Teachers’ living
1 1 2 0 0 0
accommodation accommodation

Synthesis of studies 2007_11_30 reworked .doc 57


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.
Synthesis of studies 2007_11_30 reworked .doc 58
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.

Synthesis of studies 2007_11_30 reworked .doc 59


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.

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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.

Synthesis of studies 2007_11_30 reworked .doc 61


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.

Synthesis of studies 2007_11_30 reworked .doc 62


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

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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.

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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).

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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
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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”).

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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.

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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

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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.

6.3.2 Concept Paper on:


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).

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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.

Organise Validation
Workshops and
disseminate the Set up a National
Baseline Survey Task Force in
findings country each country.
wide. 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 Monitor and Evaluate
their adoption. Select “schools” for Piloting the impact of the
the implementation of intervention on
identified good practices in “school” management
school management. in the sector

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.

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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.

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6.3.3 Concept Paper on:
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.

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(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.

6.3.4 Concept Paper on:


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

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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 150 to
Unqualified teachers intakes complete
150 new 150 to
to be trained
intakes. complete
for a period of 2 150 new 150 to
intakes complete
years. 150 new 150 to
intakes complete
Scholarships for
20 new 20 new 20 new 20 new 20 new
up-grading in subject intakes intakes intakes intakes intakes
areas for 1 year

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.

6.3.5 Concept Paper on:


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.

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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)

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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
Less than 30 to 45 Over 45 Non-
Male Female Gambian
30 yrs old yrs old yrs old 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 The The The Other (please specify)
Full-time Part-time
Manager Headteacher Principal Director …………………….
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 Higher /Advanced Bachelor’s Master’s Doctorate
Not
Certificate in Certificate or Diploma in degree in degree in in
Applicable
Education Education Education Education Education
1 2 3 4 5 0

(B) Your highest qualification in Technical/


Commercial /Vocational subject areas ………………………………………………

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EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH NETWORK FOR WEST AND CENTRAL
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1.4. Have you attended any official academic or professional courses /seminars/
Yes Y
conferences /workshops (that are relevant to your present position in the “school”)
in the last two years? Please circle the letter in the appropriate shaded box No N
If Yes, please give their title(s) ………………………………………………….….. ………
1.5 Your Professional Experience Professional Experience in
Please indicate the TOTAL number of years of Madrassas or other QSCs/Settings
experience (in Madrassas or other QSCs/ Settings) Less than 3 to 15 More than
that you have had whether as Teacher /Manager 3 years years 15 years
/Headteacher /Principal /Director 1 2 3
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 A Community A Government/State Other (Please specify)
owned “school” “School” “school” ...................................
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 7-12 yr olds 13-16 yr olds
(Pre-school age) (Lower Basic /Primary School age) (Upper Basic /Junior Secondary School age)
Yes No Yes No Yes No
1 2 1 2 1 2

17-19 yr olds 13-19 yr olds Mature Students


(Senior Secondary School age) (Out-of-“school” Youth) (Older than 19 year)
Yes No Yes No Yes No
1 2 1 2 1 2

(B) Indicate also the SIZE of the “school”


Less than 50 50 to 1,000 More than
by circling the number in the appropriate students students 1,000 students
shaded box 1 2 3

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EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH NETWORK FOR WEST AND CENTRAL
AFRICA (ERNWACA)
2.5 “School” enrolment
(A) Complete the table below for the number of students enrolled in recent years at the
“school”
Number of Male Number of Female The Total Number of
School Year
students students 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
CODE
children to this “school”
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.


The most Quite Less The least
Frequency Frequently
frequently frequently frequently frequently Never
of reason given
given given given given 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]

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EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH NETWORK FOR WEST AND CENTRAL
AFRICA (ERNWACA)
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 background
Socio-economic Group of The Not
Everyone Many A few None
Heads of Households majority Applicable
Farmer 5 4 3 2 1 0
Rural Non-Farm worker 5 4 3 2 1 0
Urban Informal sector
5 4 3 2 1 0
worker
Urban Formal sector
5 4 3 2 1 0
worker(Public or Private )
Sub-urban Informal
5 4 3 2 1 0
sector worker
Sub-urban Formal sector
5 4 3 2 1 0
worker (Public or Private)
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)
(i.e. Final Year at Senior
17-19yr olds Grade 12Secondary 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

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)

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EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH NETWORK FOR WEST AND CENTRAL
AFRICA (ERNWACA)
(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

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)

2.8 Employment/Work for the “school” leavers


(A) Does the “school” have a formal system for finding out how many Yes No N/A
of its young school leavers go into work/employment, and/or
1 2 0
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
The Quite a A Don’t
Sector of employment Everyone None
majority few/many few 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
The Quite a A Don’t
Sector Everyone None
majority few/many few 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

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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


Ratio of the school fees
received from the “school” fees to the running Year to the running budget
budget of the “school” in the past two years. 2004/05
2005/06

3.2 Financial Support for the “school”


To what extent is this “school” supported financially by:
To a large To some Not
(Please circle the numbers in the appropriate boxes below)
extent extent 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

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Section 4. THE “SCHOOL” CURRICULUM

4.1 (A) Is teaching-learning at the “school” organised along the lines indicated in the following diagram?
7 to 12 year olds 13 to 16 year olds 17 to 19 year olds Not specified by age
The organisation of the 3 to 6 year olds in the Lower Basic/ in the Upper Basic/ in the Senior and/or level
student groups Primary School or Junior Secondary School or Secondary School or
equivalent setting equivalent setting 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
1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0
(single grade)
Along Multi-grade lines
1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0
(mixed grades)
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
1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0
schooling lines
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
7 to 12 year olds 13 to 16 year olds in 17 to 19 year olds in Not
3 to 6 Upper Basic/ Junior Secondary Senior Secondary School or
year in Lower Basic/ Primary School or equivalent setting
School or equivalent setting equivalent setting specified
Language Predominantly olds Year /Grade Year /Grade Year /Grade by age and
st nd rd th th th th th th th
Used 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11th 12th /or level
The official language of the
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
country
The predominant language of
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
the local area
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?

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No. of teaching/learning hours allocated per week, per subject, at this “school” for each Year/Grade
7 to 12 year olds in 13 to 16 year olds in 17 to 19 year olds in Not
Lower Basic/ Primary School Upper Basic/ Junior Secondary School Senior Secondary School or
“SCHOOL” SUBJECTS or equivalent setting or equivalent setting equivalent setting specified
Year /Grade Year /Grade Year /Grade by age and
st nd
1 2 3rd 4th 5 th
6 th
7 th
8th 9th 10 th
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

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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
Fairly Not at Fairly Not at Fairly Not at Fairly Fairly Not
1. Life Skills Education Widely Widely Widely Widely Not at all Widely
widely all widely all widely all widely widely 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 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1
Arabic)

(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

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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 Widely
Fairly Not at
Widely
Fairly Not at
Widely
Fairly Not at
Widely
Fairly
Not at all Widely
Fairly Not
income earning activities widely all widely all widely all widely widely at all
(a) Small business management
(e.g. financial accounting, 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1
credit management)
(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
3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1
others, concern for others)
(b) Learning skills (e.g. how to
learn independently, how to 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1
assess evidence)
(c) Operational skills (e.g.
problem-solving, decision- 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1
making)

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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
1 2 0
(such as those for instructors and supervisors)?
(b) is there a formal system for introducing girls to male-dominated
1 2 0
technical subjects (such as Engineering and Construction)?
[Key: NA = Not Applicable]

4.4 Curriculum Innovation


Is the present curriculum for this “school” the outcome of a Not
curriculum innovation which aimed to bring this “school’s” Yes No Applicable
programmes in line with those offered by the State / Central 1 2 0
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]

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(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”
1 2 3 0
serves locally
(d) officials of the Ministry /Department of State (for
1 2 3 0
Education).
(e) local NGOs (or other private sector agencies) 1 2 3 0
(f) International Development Agencies/
1 2 3 0
bodies/donors (such as the World Bank)
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 Quite a Very
A lot Little None
new curriculum? lot little
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
Others (Please specify) [Key: NA = Not Applicable]
……………………………………………………………………………………

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
Others (Please specify) [Key: NA = Not Applicable]
……………………………………………………………………………………

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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
1 2 0
locally
(c) undertaking awareness raising campaign(s) about gender
1 2 0
equity
(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]

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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.]

No. of qualified No. of unqualified Total Total


teachers employed at teachers employed Full-Time Part-time
Terms of the “School” at the “School” teaching 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
No. of
Other International
teachers The Central
National Agencies/
Types of courses who “School” Government
Agencies Bodies
attended attended
courses Yes no yes no yes no yes no
College of Education–
1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2
based courses
University–based courses 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2
In-house (“School”-
1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2
based) courses
Others (Please specify)
1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2
…………………………….

Thank you for completing this questionnaire.

Please hand it back to the researcher.

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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)

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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.)

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(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

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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

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