Muslim parents were reluctant to send their children to pre-primary schools run by other faiths, writes FRED OLUOCH
THE MENTION OF THE WORD “madrassa” sends the United States antennae quivering, simply because the US has come to associate madrassa — anywhere in the world — with indoctrination centres for future terrorists.
But the madrassa pre-school programme started 25 years ago with the help of the Aga Khan, the spiritual head of the Ismaili Muslims, has been instrumental in offering early childhood development to thousands of underprivileged children in East Africa.
The madrasa programmes found in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania (Pemba and Unguja), are a step beyond the traditional Quranic madrassas as they have integrated early childhood development, teacher-empowerment and community participation.
As a result, the programme has succeeded in improving the quality of learning environment for mainly Muslim children from poor backgrounds who previously had no access to pre-school training, increased access to education, enhanced student retention in areas where drop-out rates are high, and has raised the level of academic performance. It has since been extended to include underprivileged non-Muslim students and teachers.
It all started in 1982 when Muslim community leaders from Kenya’s Coast region approached the Aga Khan for help. They told him that children in Mombasa had limited access to primary and secondary schools, were suffering from a high drop-out rate and were grossly underperforming in the national exams.
This was mainly because the children lacked attention in their formative years since Muslim parents were reluctant to send their children to pre-primary schools run by other faiths.
Studies funded by the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) revealed that the problem of access to education actually began in early years and that poor performance could be traced to lack of adequate preparation for primary school.
In 1986, with a grant from AKF, Swafiya Said, a school teacher in Mombasa, started mobilising communities to support early childhood education. Working with a traditional school or madrassa, she introduced complementary pre-school educational activities.
Working under the guidance of the Madrassa Resource Centre (MRC) in Mombasa, the programme includes the participation of community leaders and members who must elect the school committee, identify young women for training and provide physical structures to house the schools.
Once a contract is signed, community development officers train members of school committees to manage finances, cater for the needs of madrassa teachers and maintain school buildings. The emphasis is that the Madrasas are self-sufficient under the management of the community.
Women with primary or some post primary education are selected to be trained as teachers. Also, about 49 per cent of school management committees are women.
Ismailimail 