This paper finds it unacceptable for the president to stage a million dalasi Qur’anic recitation competition among Islamic students and Quranic memorisers in the name of promoting Islamic education when a greater number of ‘madarassas’ (Islamic schools) are in a sorry state.
For instance, in our today’s edition, we feature a story about a madarassa playing a great role in producing good scholars. The school enrolls over 200 pupils and many more are on the waiting list.
An ambitious Islamic scholar, Alhagie Seku Sawareh who inherited a ‘dara’ from his late father and named it Madarassu Ahadul Kairiyaa in the heart of Kerewan Samba Sira, Fulladu East has started to doubt the future of the school in the absence of the desired timely intervention.
The roofless school has an unwanted sky view that makes it highly vulnerable to destruction by rains and storm. This school lost its roof to last year’s heavy rains that caused havoc in many parts of the country.
Madarassu Ahadul Kairiyaa is one among many Islamic schools in such a dilapidated state. This circumstance, no doubt, defeats the purpose of such a competition. Needless to say, the country’s efforts to create a conducive environment for both Islamic and Western students to have equal learning and job opportunities should not slip away from the right direction.  
 
To promote madarassa education, an amount equivalent to the sum given to the first prize winner of the recently ended Qur’anic recitation competition can develop Madarassu Ahadul Kairiyaa and many others, into modern madarassas.
Oustass Sawareh is voluntarily sharing his knowledge with the younger generation at no cost. People like Sawareh who see knowledge as the real property and power for humankind should be encouraged to serve their communities and the country at large.
 
Apart from the Gambia education policy’s provision for the co-existence of Western education and religious or madarassa system, Ministry of Education can introduce an Anglo-Arab education in the country.
This is a system where the two languages - Arab and English - would be the languages of instruction to help students develop good bi-lingual background so that language barrier would no longer be an obstacle.
Though we now have a handful of students from Arabic institutes pursuing higher education in different tertiary institutions, most of them had to attend schools with English as language of instruction to get the required standard.
This means attending secondary two different secondary schools.
We believe that if madarasas are upgraded and Anglo-Arab system of education is introduced, students from Arabic institutes can directly attend tertiary education and get employment in their different fields of specialisation.
Many Gambian scholars who graduate from overseas universities can only be Qur’anic teachers and Imams, hence many consider Arabic education as non-career-oriented.
The president should be directed to invest in areas that can bring about sustainable development rather than winning the hearts of few.
And the so-called Islamic scholars should fear God to tell the president about the realities on the ground.