In a nation as complex and divided as Pakistan, the schism between its two educational systems, mainstream secular institutions and religious seminaries known as madrassas, has evolved into a deeply contentious issue. This divide transcends curriculum and pedagogy; it reflects broader social, economic, and political fault lines that shape the country’s future.
Madrassas, Islamic religious schools with roots stretching back nearly a millennium, have traditionally served as centers for Quranic memorization and Islamic jurisprudence. For much of Pakistan’s early history, their numbers remained modest, primarily focused on training religious scholars and clerics. However, the 1980s marked a dramatic transformation. Under General Zia-ul-Haq’s regime, the state institutionalized zakat collection, an Islamic tithe, automatically deducting funds from bank accounts and channeling them to religious institutions deemed worthy by clerics. This incentivized the proliferation of madrassas.
Simultaneously, the Soviet-Afghan war brought millions of refugees into Pakistan and introduced a wave of jihadist radicalism. Thousands of new madrassas emerged, bolstered by foreign donations from wealthy individuals and Islamic charities, particularly from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States. These institutions often doubled as orphanages for war-affected children, further entrenching their role in the social fabric.
Today, madrassas serve as primary education providers for many impoverished Pakistani families, offering free tuition, boarding, and meals, services the government frequently fails to deliver. Yet, despite their reach and influence, madrassas remain largely unregulated. Legislative efforts such as the Pakistan Madrassa Education Board Ordinance (2001) and the Deeni Madaaris Registration Ordinance (2002) have done little to impose meaningful oversight.
Estimates of the number of madrassas vary wildly. A 2001 Brookings Institution report cited 45,000 seminaries, while Pakistan’s first economic census in 2025 listed 36,000. The discrepancy underscores the opacity surrounding these institutions. Thousands operate illegally, and authorities often avoid enforcement for fear of backlash from religious hardliners in Pakistan’s conservative society.
Efforts to reform madrassas have repeatedly faltered. In 2019, the government introduced a sweeping mandate requiring seminaries to register with the Ministry of Education, a move backed by the military and aimed at increasing transparency. However, Islamist political parties fiercely resisted the initiative. By October 2024, the government struck a deal with Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, the largest of these parties, effectively rolling back the reforms. Madrassas were once again allowed to register under a colonial-era law governing charitable and educational organizations, a framework that offers minimal oversight of curriculum, funding, or activities.
This retreat from reform has serious implications. Madrassas have long been accused of promoting extremist ideologies that conflict with Pakistan’s national interests and global norms of peace and tolerance. The 2005 Red Mosque siege in Islamabad brought these concerns into sharp focus. A madrassa affiliated with the mosque declared war on the state, took hostages, and demanded the imposition of Sharia law. The military response left over 100 people dead and marked a turning point in Pakistan’s relationship with religious schools. Critics began referring to madrassas as “jihad factories,” and even former President Pervez Musharraf faced death threats for his role in the crackdown.
More recent statements from government officials have fueled concerns. Defence Minister Khwaja Asif’s declaration that “As far as Madrassas or Madrassa students are concerned, there’s no doubt they are our second line of defence, the youngsters who are studying there. When the time comes, they will be used as needed 100 per cent,” in the National Assembly during the India-Pakistan tensions was widely interpreted as an admission of the state’s complicity in nurturing radicalism. Such rhetoric reinforces the perception that madrassas serve not merely as educational institutions but as ideological pipelines for extremism.
Beyond radicalization, madrassas also perpetuate socioeconomic inequality. Their curriculum is overwhelmingly focused on religious instruction, with little emphasis on secular subjects like mathematics, science, or technology. Graduates often lack the skills needed to compete in the modern job market, limiting their social mobility and reinforcing class divisions. Wealthier families can afford broader, more diverse education for their children, while the poor remain trapped in a cycle of limited opportunity.
Disturbingly, madrassas have also come under scrutiny for widespread abuse, particularly sexual violence. Numerous reports have surfaced in recent years detailing cases of exploitation, often involving vulnerable children from financially struggling families. These children, placed in madrassas by parents who view them as safe havens, are sometimes subjected to horrific abuse by individuals in positions of authority. Many madrassas have been accused of shielding abusers, and societal silence has allowed the problem to persist.
While not all madrassas are implicated in radicalism or abuse, even the more benign institutions fail to offer the holistic education available in public or private schools. The lack of regulation, coupled with the government’s reluctance to enforce accountability, has created an environment where religion, radicalism, and abuse can thrive unchecked.
Reform now seems increasingly unlikely. The rollback of the 2019 registration mandate signals a prioritization of short-term political stability over long-term educational integrity. In the absence of meaningful oversight, madrassas will continue to operate in a shadowy realm, educating millions, yet failing to equip them for a future beyond religious instruction.
While madrassa education remains a matter of internal policy, the global community has a vested interest in ensuring that Pakistan fulfills its obligations in the education sector and dismantles institutions that serve as breeding grounds for extremism. The challenge lies not only in reforming the curriculum but in confronting the entrenched political and religious interests that have allowed this parallel system to flourish.
Until then, madrassa education in Pakistan will remain a troubling paradox, providing refuge and instruction to the poor, while simultaneously fostering radicalism, perpetuating inequality, and enabling abuse.
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