Isn’t it downright tragic that our official language’s perfectly-valid term for school (madressah) has long been shunned as an avenue that invites anxiety and undue concern? We had started off with around 150 madressahs at Pakistan’s independence in 1947. Call it a perk of General Zia’s pet project, they now stand at over 32,000. Unofficial estimates go as high as 60,000. Trying to keep a check on such a large institution taking in millions of young minds would, of course, top any reasonable administration’s red list. And, similarly passionate is the ruling PTI as it dips its toes in something that countless others before have pursued yet miserably failed. Remember when PM Khan had wished out loud to see seminary students become engineers and doctors in his first public address? Afghan madressah students are raising the same call as they demand the Taliban to include science subjects in their curriculum. If Kabul (literally being run by graduates of madressahs built across Pakistan to keep up the Islamisation agenda) can change its ways, why can’t we? Yes, learning the word of God is of paramount importance to ensure the community does not stray from his path. But just as crucial is knowing the ways of this world. The glorious names of Jabir Ibn Haiyan, al-Farabi, Ibn Sina and Omar Khayyam are enough to evoke the monumental Golden Age of Islam so much so that Arabic was hailed as the “progressive language of mankind.” Why resist attempts to bring in modern education when the Holy Prophet (PBUH) overwhelmingly stressed the pursuit of knowledge? Early this year, Islamabad tried its hands at streamlining tens of thousands of madressahs, but clerics responded with the ever-so-favourite “unIslamic” banter. For the longest period, the likes of Maulana Fazlur Rehman did not even agree to sit on the deliberations table with the Directorate General of Religious Education. If the government has yet to find solid footing on such a basic initiative, the less said about introducing a Single National Curriculum, the better. Federal Minister Fawad Chaudhry quite aptly redirected the light on how education systems can be “twisted to be used as war weapons.” The reasonable response would be to nip the evil in its bud: shut the doors on pathways that may lead to militancy. You simply can’t expect children being taught Muslims following any other sect were infidels for years on end and magically transform their views one fine day! The well-established madressah system can easily become a great asset to reach out to children far and wide. If not to purge the country of extremist views, let us look into what millions are being taught so that they step into the job market with a greater variety of valued skills. *