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Denizens of alien worlds: A survey of students and teachers at Pakistan's Urdu

and English language-medium schools, and madrassas

Article  in  Contemporary South Asia · September 2004

DOI: 10.1080/0958493042000272212

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Denizens of alien worlds: A survey of

students and teachers at Pakistan's
Urdu and English language-medium
schools, and madrassas
Tariq Rahman
Published online: 02 Jul 2010.

To cite this article: Tariq Rahman (2004) Denizens of alien worlds: A survey of st udent s and
t eachers at Pakist an's Urdu and English language-medium schools, and madrassas , Cont emporary
Sout h Asia, 13:3, 307-326, DOI: 10.1080/ 0958493042000272212

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 Contemporary South Asia 13(3), (September 2004) 307–326

RESEARCH NOTE

Denizens of alien worlds: a survey

of students and teachers at
Pakistan’s Urdu and English
language-medium schools, and
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madrassas
TARIQ RAHMAN

ABSTRACT This Research Note surveys the major types of schools in Pakistan. These are
Urdu language-medium schools, madrassas (Islamic seminaries) and elite English language-
medium schools (both cadet colleges and private institutions). These schools are divided
according to the medium of instruction and curriculum, as well as on the basis of socio-econ-
omic class. While the English language-medium schools cater for the middle, upper-middle
and upper classes, the Urdu language-medium schools are aimed at the lower-middle and
working classes, and the madrassas provide education for poor, marginalized or very
religious people. The expenditure by society and the state on these institutions perpetuates
class divisions in Pakistan. Alarmingly, the world view of the students of these institutions,
especially the madrassas and private English language-medium schools, is so polarized on
issues of militancy (regarding Kashmir) and tolerance (of religious minorities and women)
that they seem to inhabit different, and violently opposed, worlds. In the future, this may be
a source of social instability, internal conflict and violence in Pakistan.

There is a dearth of literature on major types of schools—Urdu language-me-

dium schools, English language-medium schools, and madrassas (Islamic semi-
naries)—widespread today in Pakistan. A number of otherwise authoritative
books1 on the country’s school system defend present policies, talk of the
necessity of nation-building and focus on public-funded schooling (i.e. vernacu-
lar-medium schools), but fail to describe elitist English-medium schools and
madrassas, except in passing. While government reports (see later) do give some
space to madrassas and English-language medium cadet colleges, they treat the
Correspondence: Dr Tariq Rahman, Professor of Linguistics and South Asian Studies, Quaid-i-Azam Univer-
sity, Islamabad, Pakistan. E-mail: dr.trahman@sat.net.pk and drt_rahman@yahoo.com

ISSN 0958-4935 print; 1469-364X online/04/030307-20  2004 Taylor & Francis Ltd
DOI: 10.1080/0958493042000272212
 TARIQ RAHMAN

two types of schools as exceptions and therefore not deserving of detailed

treatment. Although Education and the State, a collection of articles edited by
Pervez Hoodbhoy on the fiftieth anniversary of the creation of Pakistan, is
exceptional in that it describes madrassas2 and schools run by non-governmental
organizations3 as well as community-based organizations,4 it does not touch
upon the elitist English-language medium schools.5
This lack of attention is alarming, especially as students of Urdu-language
schools, English-language schools and madrassas have such different opinions
as to live in different worlds. To understand these different institutions and their
graduates is to understand how dangerously polarized Pakistani society today is,
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and how this has hampered national cohesion and a sense of commitment to
unified policies. This article presents a survey of the three major types of school
education—Urdu-medium, English-medium (both private and cadet college), and
madrassas—with a view to examining how they function and what kind of
opinions, or worldview, their students have gained.

Methodology
The historical part of this article relies upon official Pakistan government
documents on education policy and published sources. Its description of the
condition of educational institutions at present comes from both published works
and unpublished sources, such as school budget statements, interviews of
teachers and administrators, and so on. The data on the family income of
students and faculty come from a small survey of 230 students and 100 teachers
of Urdu-medium schools undertaken in December 2002 and January 2003 (for
full details, see Appendix A). This is followed by the results of a larger survey
of 618 students and 243 teachers carried out from December 2002 to June 2003
in Urdu-medium schools, English-medium schools (including private institutions
and cadet colleges), and Sunni madrassas. This second survey seeks to ascertain
the views of students and faculty on controversial issues such as Kashmir, the
rights of minorities and women, and other sensitive topics (for full details, see
Appendix B).

Educational policies in Pakistan

Beginning with the National Education Conference of 1947, there have been at
least 22 major reports on education issued by the government from time to time.
Among the most salient are the Report of the Commission on National Edu-
cation,6 The New Education Policy,7 The Education Policy (1972–1980),8
National Education Policy,9 and National Education Policy: 1998–2010.10 These
reports have been summed up very ably by Kaiser Bengali who tells us that
‘setting targets, bemoaning the failure to achieve the same, and setting new
targets with unqualified optimism has been a continuing game policy makers
have played ad nauseam and at great public expense over the last 50 years’.11

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 SURVEY OF STUDENTS AND TEACHERS IN PAKISTAN

Table 1. Government schools in Pakistan

Student
Level Number strength Teachers

Primary 170,000 20,000,000 335,100

Middle 19,100 3,988,000 101,200
Secondary 12,900 1,704,000 165,000

Source: Government of Pakistan, The Economic Survey of Pak-

istan (Islamabad: Planning Commission, 2003), pp 105–106, 159.
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While these educational reports focus on modern education provided in govern

ment schools, colleges and universities, separate government-commissioned
reports on madrassas are little better.12
All educational policy documents emphasize the ideological role of education
in Pakistan. Nation-building is to be encouraged by suppressing ethnicity, and
this is to be achieved by ignoring the multi-lingual and multi-cultural aspects of
Pakistani society. Islam is to be used as a unifying factor both against ethnicity
and against India, the permanent ‘other’. Indeed, the security paradigm is
paramount, and the country’s armed forces and wars are glorified and sanctified
in the name of Islam and nationalism.

Urdu language-medium schools

As of today, there are over 200,000 primary, middle and secondary schools in
Pakistan, containing over 600,000 teachers and 25 million students (see Table 1).
With the exception of Sindhi language-medium government schools (36,750 in
1998) and Pashto language-medium primary schools (10,731 in 1999),13 most of
these schools teach in Urdu.
Despite their high numbers, Urdu-language schools are not accessible to all
children. Even where they do exist, attending them daily requires considerable
time, energy and money. Most children travel less than two kilometres to reach
their school, although some travel more than five kilometres. Especially in
Balochistan and Sindh, girls going to school have to travel long distances, which
is both difficult and unsafe.14
Students in Urdu-language schools are taught through rote learning, and
given corporal punishment for mistakes. Analysis is not encouraged at
any level. Moreover, the schools are very sparsely furnished with no heating
in the winter. Some schools in the cities do have fans but none are
air-conditioned. Students sit on hard benches and memorize lessons by
singing them in a chorus. The high student/teacher ration and low average
expenditure per pupil per year in ordinary Urdu-medium government schools
can be judged by looking at the schools of Rawalpindi District in 2003 (see
Table 2).

309
 TARIQ RAHMAN

Table 2. Student/teacher ratio and cost per pupil per year in the Urdu-medium
schools of Rawalpindi District (2003)

Parameter Male Female Total

Schools 1191 1213 2404

Enrolment 389,259 170,696 559,955
Teachers 7236 6073 13,309
Student/teacher ratio 54/1 28/1 42/1
Budget n.a. n.a. Rs.1268 million
Cost per pupil per year n.a. n.a. Rs.2264.5
Cost to the state (per pupil per year) n.a. n.a. Rs.2264.5
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Source: Office of the District Executive Officer (Education), Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

n.a., not available.

Just as the poorest children have the lowest enrolment in schools, they also
tend to drop out more than others. Thus, 53% of the poorest quintile dropped out
before completing class 6 compared with only 23% of the richest quintile.15
Many parents and teachers explain this failure rate as due to a lack of motivation
by students. However, if one considers the extremely harsh conditions at home
and the cruel treatment children receive at school, one wonders why more do not
drop out.
As far as we can ascertain, the teachers and students in Urdu-language schools
come from the working class and lower-middle class (see Table A2). Very few
families are in higher income brackets. However, note that, due to the social
stigma of poverty, over two-thirds of our small survey did not reveal their family
income. Based on their monthly income, most teachers in our survey also belong
to the lower-middle class (see Table A3). Unsurprisingly, those few families
where both spouses work enjoy a higher income that places them in the
upper-middle class.
Urdu-medium students, being from the upper-working-class and lower-mid-
dle-class backgrounds, are less exposed to Western discourses available on cable
television, in English books, and during conversations with peer group members,
family and friends who have been abroad. Also, most students in Urdu-medium
schools study the textbooks provided by the Textbook Boards of the provinces—
Punjab, Sindh, Northwest Frontier (NWFP), Balochistan—that constitute Pak-
istan. Ethnicity is denied so as to create a Pakistani identity. Although these
centrist policies have been resented by ethnic communities, still the textbooks
reinforce them.16 There is also much glorification of war and the military, and
many anti-Hindu and anti-India remarks are interspersed throughout the books.17
However, according to our main survey (see Tables B4 and B5), most students
and teachers at Urdu-medium schools do not support militant policies. Still,
more would support an open war with India than low intensity conflict in
Kashmir. This group of students and teachers are also quite intolerant of
religious minorities, although they do approve of men and women having equal
rights.

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 SURVEY OF STUDENTS AND TEACHERS IN PAKISTAN

Table 3. Central boards of madrassas in Pakistan

Board Subsect Location Date established

Wafaq ul Madaris Deobandi Multan 1958

Tanzim ul Madaris Barelvi Lahore 1960
Wafaq ul Madaris (Shia) Shia Lahore 1962
Pakistan
Rabta-tul-Madaris-al-Islamia Jamat-i-Islami Lahore 1986 (unified
syllabus adopted)
Wafaq-ul-Madaris-al-Salafia Ahl-i-Hadith Faislabad 1978
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Source: Offices of the respective boards.

Madrassas
Madrassas are considered by many as the breeding ground of the Jihadi culture,
a term used for Islamic militancy in the English-language press of Pakistan.18
They also have been associated with the former Taliban rulers of Afghanistan,
some of whom were students of these schools, as well as with supporting
militancy in Kashmir. In India, madrassas have been attacked by Hindu
extremists who accuse them of creating hatred against non-Muslims.19
There were approximately 137 madrassas in West Pakistan before indepen-
dence in 1947.20 In April 2002, Minister of Religious Affairs Mahmood Ahmed
Ghazi put their figure at 10,000, with 1.7 million students.21 While madrassas
belong to the major Sunni and Shia sects of Islam, Pakistani Muslims are
predominantly Sunni, and this is reflected in the few numbers of Shia madrassas
(which includes three subsects; Deobandis, Barelvis and the Ahl-i-Hadith). The
revivalist Jamat-i-Islami also has its own madrassas. The number of madrassas
notably increased during the rule of General Zia ul Haq (1977–88). During the
Afghanistan War, the United States sent money, arms and ammunition through
Pakistan to help the mujahedeen combat the Soviet Union. Some of these funds
are said to have been used to support the madrassas. Later, presumably because
religiously inspired madrassa students infiltrated across the line-of-control in
Kashmir to fight the Indian Army, they were supported by Pakistan, specifically
the Inter Services Intelligence directorate (as both the Inter Services Intelligence
and madrassas deny these links, exact amounts of financial assistance cannot be
determined). However, the increase in the number of registered madrassas is
phenomenal, rising from 2002 in 1988 to 9880 in 2002. The Deobandi madras-
sas, the ones most closely allied to the Taliban, went up from 1779 to over 7000
in number.
While there is hardly any credible information available for the mostly
unregistered madrassas, those that are registered are controlled by their own
central organizations or boards (see Table 3). They determine the syllabus,
collect registration and examination fees, send examination papers in Urdu and
Arabic to the madrassas where pupils sit for examinations, and declare results.
Before Mulla Nizam Uddin (d. 1748) standardized the curriculum known as the

311
 TARIQ RAHMAN

Dars-i-Nizami, different teachers in different madrassas taught different books

to students. Today in Pakistan, while the canonical texts are used as a symbol
of continuity, identity and to preserve Islamic heritage, more modern books are
used to supplement them.
The vast majority of madrassas in Pakistan are financed by voluntary charity
provided by businessmen and others who believe that they are earning great
merit by contributing to them. Others are allegedly funded by foreign govern-
ments—the Saudi government is said to help the Ahl-i-Hadith schools and the
Iranian government the Shia schools—although proof of this is hard to come by.
According to the Jamia Salfia of Faisalabad, the annual expenditure on its school
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of about 700 students is Rs.4,000,000. A Barelvi madrassa gave roughly the

same figure for the same number of students. This comes to Rs.5,714 per year;
an incredibly small amount of money for education, books, boarding and
lodging.
As the madrassas generally do not charge tuition fees (although they do
charge a small admission fee not exceeding Rs.400), they attract very poor
students who would not receive any education otherwise. For instance, the:
Dar-ul-Uloom Haqqania, one of the most popular and influential Madrassahs [it includes
most of the Afghani Taliban leadership among its alumni]—has a student body of 1500
boarding students and 1000 day students, from 6 years old upwards. Each year over 15,000
applicants from poor families vie for its 400 open spaces.22

Similarly:
more than 80 percent of the madrassa students in Peshawar, Multan, and Gujranwala were
found to be sons of small or landless peasants, rural artisans, or village imams of the
mosques. The remaining 20 percent came from families of small shopkeepers and rural
laborers.23

Our small survey also showed that both students and teachers at madrassas
belong to the working class (see Tables A4 and A5). In Pakistan, the madrassas
are performing a vital role in the welfare of the poorer sections of society. They
provide free food, clothes, books, notebooks and even jobs (at least in mosques,
schools and other madrassas). Their influence on rural people and poorer
sections of the urban proletariat will continue to increase as poverty increases.
While Radd (Refutation) has always been part of the religious education in
Pakistan’s madrassas, only in recent years has it been blamed for the unpre-
cedented increase in the sectarian violence in the country. The inculcation of
sectarian bias is an offence and no madrassa teacher or administrator would
confess to teaching any text refuting the beliefs of other sects. Yet, that each
madrassa teaches its own maslak (interpretation of religion) makes their curricu-
lum by definition sectarian or subsectarian. For instance, when questioned
specifically about the teaching of the maslak, students in the final year at Jamia
Rizvia Zia ul Uloom (Barelvi) in Rawalpindi said that sometimes some teachers
recommended supplementary reading material specifically for the refutation of
the doctrines of other sects and subsects.24 The printed syllabi of a number of

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 SURVEY OF STUDENTS AND TEACHERS IN PAKISTAN

sects also list books that refute the beliefs of other sects, as well as heresies
within the Islamic world.25 Pakistan’s madrassas also continue to refute chal-
lenges to the Muslim ideological space, especially from the West. For instance,
judging from its 2002 syllabus, the Jamat-i-Islami probably goes to great lengths
to make its students aware of Western domination, the exploitative potential of
Western political and economic ideas, and the disruptive influence of Western
liberty and individualism on Muslim societies.26
In an attempt to control religious extremism taught in madrassas, Pakistan
President General Pervez Musharraf’s military government passed the Voluntary
Registration and Regulation Ordinance 2002. This law, however, has been
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rejected by most madrassas, which want no state interference in their affairs.

Indeed, only about one-tenth of Pakistan’s madrassas agreed to be registered
with the government; the rest simply ignored the statute.27 Thus, while Radd
texts may not be formally taught in most madrassas in Pakistan, they are being
printed—which means they are in circulation. Apart from the madrassas proper,
religious parties such as Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Harkat-ul-
Mujahidin print militant literature that circulates among the madrassas and other
institutions. Although these parties recently have been banned, their members are
said to be dispersed all over Pakistan, especially in the madrassas.
Although a madrassa education may be argued to produce a religious,
sectarian, subsectarian and anti-Western bias, it should not be assumed that this
bias automatically translates into militancy and sectarian violence of the type
Pakistan has been experiencing. Other factors—the arming of religious young
men to fight in Afghanistan and Kashmir, the state’s clampdown on free
expression of political dissent during Zia ul Haq’s martial law, the appalling
poverty of rural areas and urban slums—must be taken into account. Nonethe-
less, our major survey found madrassa students—and their teachers—to be the
most intolerant of all educational groups in Pakistan (see Tables B4 and B5).
They are the most supportive of an aggressive foreign policy, the most intolerant
of religious minorities, and do not support equal rights for men and women.

English language-medium schools

The stated official policy of the Pakistan government is that public money will
be spent on schools that use Urdu (and Sindhi only in parts of Sindh) as the
medium of instruction.28 It is often stated that private educational institutions are
run by private resources and enterprise. However, this is only partly true, as we
shall now see.

Cadet colleges/public schools

As the armed forces and higher bureaucracy in Pakistan use English for official
purposes, they demand entrants who are competent in that language. The armed
forces, wishing to equip their own wards at lower cost than elite private schools
charged, established ‘a number of cadet colleges and academies’29 at the behest

313
 TARIQ RAHMAN

Table 4. Donations, student numbers and cost per student at selected cadet colleges of
Pakistan

Yearly cost per

Donation from the student to the
Provincial National Government
Institution Government (Rs.) Number of students (Rs.)

Cadet College Kohat 5,819.800 575 10,121

Cadet College 6,000,000 480 12,500
Larkana
Cadet College Pitaro 14,344,000 700 20,491
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Laurence College 12,000,000 711 16,878

Cadet College 8,096,000 480 16,867
Hasanabdal

Source: Information about donations and number of students supplied by the offices of the
respective institutions in 2003.

of President General Ayub Khan. In 1966, the students from less privileged
schools protested against these institutions. The government-appointed Com-
mission on Student’s Welfare and Problems agreed that such schools violated the
constitutional assurance that ‘all citizens are equal before law’.30 Nonetheless,
the Commission defended the institutions as the training schools of the future
leaders of the country and, as a result, cadet colleges multiplied. Today, the
army’s Fauji Foundation runs 88 secondary schools and four higher secondary
schools (the navy and air force administer similar institutions).
As Pakistan’s cadet colleges are subsidized by the state (see Table 4), they can
offer excellent boarding and lodging arrangements, spacious playgrounds, well-
equipped libraries and laboratories and faculty with masters’ degrees. While the
rates of tuition vary from rural to urban areas, and from category to category,
beneficiaries (retired military personnel) pay much lower fees for their children
than do civilians. For instance, The Military College Jhelum, a cadet college
administered by the army, charges its beneficiaries Rs.400 per month tuition and
its civilians Rs.1000. Whatever these differences, the financial advantages of
cadet colleges means that the children of both groups, as well as their teachers,
can continue to enjoy a high standard of living (see Tables A6 and A7).
As might be expected, the curriculum in Pakistan’s cadet colleges is vastly
different from that taught in madrassas. State control is higher; while their
textbooks are in English, they are mostly those recommended by the govern-
ment’s Textbook Boards. The teachers at cadet colleges, generally from the
middle class, expose students to anti-India and pro-military ideas. Also, as most
students are boarders, they are not exposed to the wider world of cable television
as are their elite school counterparts. Thus, children of cadet colleges, being less
exposed to Western sources of information and role models, are more supportive
of militant policies and denial of rights to minorities than are elite English-me-
dium children (see Table B4).

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 SURVEY OF STUDENTS AND TEACHERS IN PAKISTAN

Private elitist English schools

Apart from the schools run by agencies of the state itself—in contravention of
Pakistan’s stated policy of providing vernacular-medium education for all at
state expense—there are private schools that deal in selling their English-lan-
guage medium education at exorbitant prices to the sons and daughters of the
upper middle-class and above (see Table A8). Private schools catering to the
elite have existed since British times. In Pakistan, the convents were such types
of schools, and most Anglicized senior members of the elite are from such
institutions. However, these schools were not as expensive as those that replaced
them from 1985 onwards. The new schools have campuses all over the country
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(although all are not of equal quality), and charge tuition fees of at least Rs.1500
per month. Their financial clout also allows them to reward faculty amply (see
Table A9).
As the aim of the elite English-language schools is to prepare students for the
British Ordinary (‘O’) level and Advanced (‘A’) level examinations, their
curriculum is much more international in outlook than any of the other types of
schools mentioned earlier. Their students read textbooks containing discourses
originating in other countries and, both at school and at home, are exposed to
cable television, dress, fiction and conversations with adults who themselves are
familiar with other countries. Children from such schools tend to be more
tolerant of the other, be it religious, the West or India, and less supportive of
militant policies in Kashmir than their counterparts in other schools (see Table
B4). Perhaps surprisingly, the—mostly female—teachers at these elite English-
language schools are neither as supportive of a peaceful foreign policy nor as
tolerant of religious minorities as their students (see Table B5). One explanation
for this is that the teachers belong to middle-class socio-economic backgrounds
whereas the students belong to more affluent and Westernized ones.

Conclusion
Pakistan’s educational system is stratified according to socio-economic class and
can be expressed roughly in terms of type of educational institution. The
madrassas cater for very poor children mostly from rural and urban working-
class localities. The Urdu-medium schools cater for lower-middle-class and
some middle-class children, while the elite English-medium schools cater for the
upper-middle class and above. The cost per student per year in these institutions
is perhaps the strongest indicator of the economic apartheid that prevails and is
supported by the state in the educational system of Pakistan (see Table 5).
The worldview of the students in these schools is so different from each other
that they seem to live in different worlds. The most acute polarization is between
the madrassa students and those at elite English-medium schools. The former are
deprived, but they express their anger—the rage of the dispossessed—via the
idiom of religion. This brings them in conflict with the Westernized elite, which
looks down upon them in contempt—although its most powerful members

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 TARIQ RAHMAN

Table 5. Differences in costs in major types of educational institutions in Pakistan (rupees)

Average cost Cost to the state per

per student per student per year
Institution year (Rs.) Funder(s) (Rs.)

Madrassas 5714 (includes board Philanthropists and None reported

and lodging) religious (except for some
organizations subsidies on
computers, books
and other
educational materials
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in some madrassas)
Urdu-medium 2264.5 (only tuition) The state 2264.5
schools
Cadet colleges/public 90,061 (includes Parents and the state 14,171 (average of
schools tuition and all (average of six cadet five cadet colleges
facilities) colleges and one only)
public school)
English-medium 96,000 for ‘A’-level Parents None reported
schools (tuition only); 36,000 (except for the
for other levels provision of
(tuition only) subsidized land in
some cantonments)

Source: Data obtained from several institutions by field research in 2002–2003.

continually legitimize their hold on the state apparatus in the name of Islam. The
state has strengthened the Islamic lobby itself by Islamizing education and
making the Kashmir dispute almost a matter of religion. Now that the state feels
obliged to reverse these policies, it is already facing resistance from the Islamic
lobby. This may increase if madrassa-educated young men are marginalized
even further while remaining both poor and armed.
The majority of the students from the Urdu-medium stream are also alienated,
both from their madrassa as well as English-medium counterparts. In socio-
economic terms, they belong roughly to the same class as the madrassa students
but their training is different and, hence, their views are also different. Moreover,
not sharing the Westernization and the wealth of the English-medium students,
they are alienated from them as well, and have a vague sense of having been
cheated.
These differences in views and dissatisfaction among Pakistan’s students do
not augur well for nation-building or cohesion. They have a divisive potential
along class lines that will probably be expressed in a nationalistic and religious
idiom in any future crisis. Also, if government spending continues to favour the
armed forces and the elite (virtually one and the same), social sector funding will
suffer. Indeed, this has already occurred, and both religious extremists and ethnic
nationalists have tried to fill the vacant space. If the armies of the unemployed
and the marginalized are not to be increased to the point where they become
unmanageable, the state should invest in the poor. Pakistan’s best investment

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 SURVEY OF STUDENTS AND TEACHERS IN PAKISTAN

would be to create a fair and just education system that promotes tolerance,
human values and nation-building.

Notes and references

1. See, for instance, Syed Abdul Quddus, Education and National Reconstruction of Pakistan (Lahore: S.I.
Gilani, 1979); Umme Salma Zaman, Banners Unfurled: A Critical Analysis of Developments in Education
in Pakistan (Karachi: Royal Book Company, 1981); and Louis D. Hayes, The Crisis of Education in
Pakistan (Lahore: Vanguard, 1987).
2. A. H. Nayyar, ‘Madrasah education: frozen in time’, in Pervez Hoodbhoy (ed), Fifty Years of Education
in Pakistan (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 1998), chapter 8.
3. Fayyaz Baqir, ‘The role of NGO’s in education’, in Hoodbhoy, ibid, chapter 6.
4. Akhtar Hameed Khan, ‘Community-based schools and the Orangi Project’, in Hoodbhoy, op cit, Ref 2,
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chapter 7.
5. For information on English-language schools in Pakistan in terms of language teaching and world-view,
see Tariq Rahman, Language, Ideology and Power: Language-learning Among the Muslims of Pakistan
and North India (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2002).
6. Government of Pakistan, Report of the Commission on National Education (Karachi: Ministry of
Education, 1959).
7. Government of Pakistan, The New Education Policy (Islamabad: Ministry of Education, 1970).
8. Government of Pakistan, The Education Policy 1972–1980 (Islamabad: Ministry of Education, 1972).
9. Government of Pakistan, National Education Policy (Islamabad: Planning Commission, 1992).
10. Government of Pakistan, National Education Policy 1998–2010 (Islamabad: Ministry of Education: 1998).
11. Kaiser Bengali, History of Education Policy Making and Planning in Pakistan (Islamabad: Sustainable
Development Policy Institute, 1999).
12. See, for instance, Government of Pakistan, Qaumi Committee Barae Deeni Madaris [Urdu] (Islamabad:
Ministry of Religious Affairs, 1979); and Government of Pakistan, Deeni Madaris Ki Jame Report [Urdu]
(Islamabad: Islamic Education Research Cell, Ministry of Education, 1988).
13. Field research carried out in 2002–2003 (Appendix B).
14. Government of Pakistan, Pakistan Integrated Household Survey Round 4: 2001–2002 (Islamabad: Federal
Bureau of Statistics, Statistics Division, 2002), p 17.
15. Ibid., p 15.
16. See Tahir Amin, The Ethno-National Movements of Pakistan (Islamabad: Institute of Policy Studies,
1988); Tariq Rahman, Language and Politics in Pakistan (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 1996); and
Feroz Ahmed, Ethnicity and Politics in Pakistan (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 1998).
17. See K. K. Aziz, The Murder of History in Pakistan (Lahore: Vanguard 1993); and Rubina Saigol,
Knowledge and Identity: Articulation of Gender in Educational Discourse in Pakistan (Lahore: ASR
Publication, 1995). For a comparison between the history textbooks of India and Pakistan, see Krishna
Kumar, Prejudice and Pride: School Histories of the Freedom Struggle in Pakistan and India (New Delhi:
Penguin Books India, 2001).
18. See, for instance, P. W. Singer, ‘Pakistan’s madrassas: ensuring a system of education not jihad’ Analysis
Paper 14, November 2001, http://www.brookings.edu/views/papers/singer/20020103.htm, accessed 4
February 2004; Ahmed Rashid, Taliban: Islam, Oil and the New Great Game in Central Asia (London:
I.B. Taurus, 2000), pp 191–192; and Hussain Haqqani, ‘Islam’s medieval outposts’, Foreign Policy No.
133, December 2002, pp 58-64.
19. Yoginder Sikand, ‘Indian state and the madrassa’, Himal, September 2001, http://www.himalmag.com
accessed 4 February 2004.
20. Jamal Malik, Colonization of Islam.
21. International Crisis Group, Pakistan: Madrassas, Extremism and the Military (Islamabad/Brussels:
International Advisory Group Asia), Report No. 36, 29 July 2002.
22. Singer, op cit, Ref. 18.
23. Mumtaz Ahmad. ‘Continuity and change in the traditional system of Islamic education: the case of
Pakistan’, in Craig Baxter and Charles H Kennedy (eds), Pakistan 2000 (Karachi: Oxford University Press,
2000).
24. Many ulema and most students of madrassas did not want their interviews to be recorded by name. Those
who allowed their names to be mentioned are: Mohammad Hussain, interview with the Nazim-e-Daftar of
Jamiat us Safia’, Islamabad, 13 December, 2002; and Mohammad Iqbal Zafar, interview with the Head of
Jamia Rizvia Zia ul Uloom, Satellite Town, Rawalpindi, 26 December, 2002.
25. For examples, see, for instance, Government of Pakistan 1988, op cit, Ref. 12.
26. Ralta-tal-Madaris: 2002 syllabus, Mansurah, Lahore.

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27. Singer, op cit, Ref 18.

28. Op cit, Ref 7.
29. Ayub Khan, Friends not Masters (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 1967), p 43.
30. Government of Pakistan, Report of the Commission on Student’s Problems and Welfare and Problems
(Islamabad: Ministry of Education, Government of Pakistan, 1966), p 18.
31. The quintiles are divided according to income (in rupees) per month as follows: first quintile of Rs.620.45
and below; second quintile of Rs.620.46 to 769.9; third quintile of Rs.769.1–947.53; fourth quintile of
Rs.947.54–1254.53; and fifth quintile of Rs.1254.54 and above, op cit, Ref 14, Appendix C.

Appendix A: Survey of socio-economic class and income

Note: While the government of Pakistan provides income statistics in quintiles,31 this survey divides its
respondents according to income in rupees per month and therefore socio-economic class (see Table A1).
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Table A1. Socio-economic class and income (Rupees) per

month

Socio-economic class Income per month (Rs.)

Working (lower) class Up to 5000

Lower-middle class 5001–10,000
Middle class 10,001–20,000
Upper-middle class 20,001–50,000
Lower-upper class 50,001–100,000
Middle-upper class Above 100,000

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Table A2. Family income of Urdu-medium school students (rupees per month)

Rs.50,000– Above
Source Up to Rs.5000 Rs.5001–10,000 Rs.10,001–20,000 Rs.20,001–50,000 100,000 Rs.100,000 Total

Father 83 (61.48%) 36 (26.66%) 13 (9.63%) 3 (2.22%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 135 (100%)*

Mother 8 (80%) 2 (20%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 10 (100%)**
Father and 2 (20%) 4 (40%) 4 (40%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 10 (100%)**
mother

Note: * Out of 230 respondents, only 135 chose to answer this question and the percentages are for these respondents only. ** Out of 230

SURVEY OF STUDENTS AND TEACHERS IN PAKISTAN

respondents, only 10 chose to answer this question and the percentages are for these respondents only.

Table A3. Family income of Urdu-medium school teachers (rupees per month)

Rs.50,000– Above
Source Up to Rs.5000 Rs.5001–10,000 Rs.10,001–20,000 Rs.20,001–50,000 100,000 Rs.100,000 Total

Self 17 (18.09%) 62 (65.96%) 15 (15.96%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 94 (100%)*

Spouse 3 (16.66%) 6 (33.33%) 7 (38.89%) 2 (11.11%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 18 (100%)**
Self and 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 9 (50%) 9 (50%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 18 (100%)**
spouse

Note: * Out of 100 respondents, only 94 chose to answer this question and the percentages are for these respondents only. ** Out of 100
respondents, only 18 chose to answer this question and the percentages are for these respondents only.
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Table A4. Family income of Madrassa students (rupees per month)

Source Up to Rs.5000 Rs.5001–10,000 Rs.10,001–20,000 Rs.20,001–50,000 Rs.50,000–100,000 Total

Father 59 (76.62%) 10 (14.86%) 4 (5.19%) 4 (5.19%) 0 (0.00%) 77 (100%)*

Mother 2 (66.66%) 1 (33.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 3 (100%)**
Father and 1 (33.33%) 1 (33.33%) 1 (33.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 3 (100%)**
mother

Note: * Out of 142 respondents, only 77 chose to answer this question and the percentages are for these respondents only. ** Out of
142 respondents, only three chose to answer this question and the percentages are for these respondents only.

Table A5. Family income of madrassa teachers (rupees per month)

Source Up to Rs.5000 Rs.5001–10,000 Rs.10,001–20,000 Rs.20,001–50,000 Rs.50,000–100,000 Total

Self 13 (72.22%) 3 (16.66%) 2 (11.11%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 18 (100%)*

Spouse 1 (100%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 1 (100%)**
Self and 0 (0.00%) 1 (100%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 1 (100%)**
spouse

Note: * Out of 27 respondents, only 18 chose to answer this question and the percentages are for these respondents only. ** Out of 27
respondents, only one chose to answer this question and the percentages are for this respondents only.
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Table A6. Family income of cadet college/public school students (rupees per month)

Rs.50,000– Above
Source Up to Rs.5000 Rs.5001–10,000 Rs.10,001–20,000 Rs.20,001–50,000 100,000 Rs.100,000 Total

Father 0 (0.00%) 5 (8.62%) 17 (29.31%) 33 (56.90%) 3 (5.17%) 0 (0.00%) 58 (100%)*

Mother 2 (10.53%) 8 (42.11%) 4 (21.05%) 5 (26.32%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 19 (100%)**
Father and 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 2 (10.53%) 11 (57.89%) 4 (21.05%) 0 (0.00%) 19 (100%)**
mother

SURVEY OF STUDENTS AND TEACHERS IN PAKISTAN

Note: * Out of 130 respondents, only 58 chose to answer this question and the percentages are for these respondents only. ** Out of 130
respondents, only 19 chose to answer this question and the percentages are for these respondents only.

Table A7. Family income of cadet college/public school teachers (rupees per month)

Rs.50,000– Above
Source Up to Rs.5000 Rs.5001–10,000 Rs.10,001–20,000 Rs.20,001–50,000 100,000 Rs.100,000 Total

Self 1 (2%) 17 (34%) 28 (56%) 4 (8%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 50 (100%)*

Spouse 0 (0.00%) 1 (16.66%) 5 (83.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 6 (100%)**
Self and 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 1 (16.66%) 5 (83.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 6 (100%)**
spouse

Note: * Out of 51 respondents, only 50 chose to answer this question and the percentages are for these respondents only. ** Out of 51
respondents, only six chose to answer this question and the percentages are for these respondents only.
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TARIQ RAHMAN
Table A8. Family income of English-medium school students (rupees per month)

Rs.50,000– Above
Source Up to Rs.5000 Rs.5001–10,000 Rs.10,001–20,000 Rs.20,001–50,000 100,000 Rs.100,000 Total

Father 0 (0.00%) 1 (2.86%) 3 (8.57%) 18 (51.43%) 8 (22.86%) 5 (14.29%) 35 (100%)*

Mother 1 (6.66%) 3 (20%) 2 (13.33%) 8 (53.33%) 1 (6.66%) 0 (0.00%) 15 (100)**
Father and 1 (6.66%) 2 (13.33%) 0 (0.00%) 4 (26.66%) 5 (33.33%) 3 (20%) 15 (100%)**
mother

Note: * Out of 116 respondents, only 35 chose to answer this question and the percentages are for these respondents only. ** Out of 116
respondents, only 15 chose to answer this question and the percentages are for these respondents only.

Table A9. Family income of English-medium school teachers (rupees per month)

Rs.50,000– Above
Source Up to Rs.5000 Rs.5001–10,000 Rs.10,001–20,000 Rs.20,001–50,000 100,000 Rs.100,000 Total

Self 3 (5.55%) 22 (40.74%) 18 (33.33%) 10 (15.38%) 1 (1.85%) 0 (0.00%) 54 (100%)*

Spouse 0 (0.00%) 1 (10%) 6 (60%) 2 (20%) 1 (10%) 0 (0.00%) 10 (100%)**
Self and 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 3 (30%) 4 (40%) 2 (20%) 01 of 10 10 (100%)**
spouse (10%)

Note: * Out of 65 respondents, only 54 chose to answer this question and the percentages are for these respondents only. ** Out of 65
respondents, only 10 chose to answer this question and the percentages are for these respondents only.
 SURVEY OF STUDENTS AND TEACHERS IN PAKISTAN

Appendix B: 2003 survey of schools and madrassas

This survey was conducted between December 2002 and April 2003 with the help of research assistants Imran
Farid and Shahid Gondal. The locations were Peshawar (NWFP) and Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Lahore, Multan,
Bahawalpur and Mandi Bahauddin (Punjab). Institutions were used as clusters but only students of class 10
and equivalent were given questionnaires in Urdu or English. The major stratas are: (1) Urdu-medium schools,
(2) English-medium schools (3) cadet colleges/public schools, and (4) madrassas (see Tables B1 and B2). The
age of students is also presented (see Table B3).

Survey questionnaires
The questionnaires used in our survey for students and teachers are reproduced here. Please note that while
part 1 is different for students and teachers, part 2 (on opinions) is exactly the same for both. The results for
part 2 are collated for students and teachers (see Tables B4 and B5).
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Part 1: for faculty only

DO NOT WRITE YOUR NAME TO ENSURE SECRECY. WRITE THE NAME of the institution in which
you teach with medium of Instruction.
(1) Sex (1) Male (2) Female
(2)Education: (1) Below B.A (2) B.A (3) M.A (4) M. Phil (5) Ph.D
(3)Which subject (s) do you teach?
What is the occupation of your spouse Give his or her rank, title, occupational status; salary; grade; income
from all sources etc?

Table B1. Classification of teachers surveyed

School type Male Female Total

English-medium 18 47 65
Cadet college/public schools 51 0 51
Urdu-medium 42 58 100
Madrassas 27 0 27
Grand total 138 105 243

Table B2. Classification of students surveyed

School type Male Female Total

English-medium 62 52 116
Cadet college/public schools 130 Nil 130
Urdu-medium 123 107 230
Madrassas 142 Nil 142
Grand total 457 159 618

Table B3. Ages of students surveyed

Mean Mode Range

Institution (years) (years) (years)

Cadet colleges 15.5 15 12–19

Madrassas 19 20 14–27
English-medium schools 14.1 15 13–18

Note: In the case of madrassas, the age range is higher because some of the sanvia class groups
had older boys who had joined the seminary late.

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What is your average total monthly income (write income from all sources such as tuition, publications,
consultancies, rent etc.
What is the medium of instruction of the school in which your children study (or studied)?
What was medium of instruction of the school in which you studied most?
Part 1: for students only
DO NOT WRITE YOUR NAME TO ENSURE SECRECY. WRITE THE NAME of your SCHOOL with
medium of Instruction.
age.
Class
Sex (1) Male (2) Female
What is the occupation of your father? Give his rank, title, occupational status; salary; grade; income from all
sources etc?
What is the occupation of your mother? Give her rank, title, occupational status, salary, grade, income from
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all sources etc?

Part 2: for both faculty and students
What should be Pakistan’s priorities?
1. Take Kashmir away from India by an open war?
(1) Yes (2) No (3) Don’t Know
2. Take Kashmir away from India by supporting Jihadi groups to fight with the Indian army?
(1) Yes (2) No (3) Don’t Know
3. Support Kashmir cause through peaceful means only (i.e. no open war or sending Jihadi groups across the
line of control?).
(1) Yes (2) No (3) Don’t Know
4. Give equal rights to Ahmedis in all jobs etc?
(1) Yes (2) No (3) Don’t Know
5. Give equal rights to Pakistani Hindus in all jobs etc?
(1) Yes (2) No (3) Don’t Know
6. Give equal rights to Pakistani Christians in all jobs etc?
(1) Yes (2) No (3) Don’t Know
7. Give equal rights to men and women as in Western countries?
(1) Yes (2) No (3) Don’t Know

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 SURVEY OF STUDENTS AND TEACHERS IN PAKISTAN

Table B4. A comparative chart of student opinions (%)

Cadet
Urdu- English- Colleges/
Abbreviated medium medium Public
question Response Madrassas schools schools schools

1. Open war Yes 59.86 39.56 25.86 36.92

No 31.69 53.04 64.66 60.00
Don’t Know 8.45 7.39 9.48 3.08
2. Jihadi groups Yes 52.82 33.04 22.41 53.08
No 32.39 45.22 60.34 40.00
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Don’t Know 14.79 21.74 17.24 6.92

3. Peaceful means Yes 33.80 75.65 72.41 56.15
No 54.93 18.26 18.97 36.92
Don’t Know 11.27 6.09 8.62 6.92
4. Ahmedis Yes 12.68 46.95 65.52 41.54
No 82.39 36.95 9.48 36.92
Don’t Know 4.93 16.09 25.00 21.54
5. Hindus Yes 16.90 47.39 78.45 64.62
No 76.06 42.61 13.79 31.54
Don’t Know 7.04 10.00 7.76 3.85
6. Christians Yes 18.31 65.65 83.62 76.92
No 73.24 26.52 8.62 18.46
Don’t Know 8.45 7.83 7.76 4.62
7. Women Yes 16.90 75.22 90.52 67.69
No 77.46 17.39 6.03 25.38
Don’t Know 5.63 7.39 3.45 6.92

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 TARIQ RAHMAN

Table B5. A comparative chart of teacher opinions (%)

Cadet
Urdu- English- Colleges/
Abbreviated medium medium Public
question Response Madrassas schools schools schools

1. Open war Yes 70.37 20 26.15 19.61

No 22.22 70 64.62 68.63
Don’t Know 7.41 10 9.23 11.76
2. Jihadi groups Yes 59.26 19 38.46 39.22
No 29.63 68 50.77 52.94
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Don’t Know 11.11 13 10.77 7.84

3. Peaceful means Yes 29.63 85 60.00 66.66
No 66.67 10 33.85 19.61
Don’t Know 3.70 5 6.15 13.73
4. Ahmedis Yes 3.70 27 43.07 29.41
No 96.30 65 36.92 62.75
Don’t Know 0.00 8 20.00 7.84
5. Hindus Yes 14.81 37 61.54 60.78
No 85.19 58 26.15 35.29
Don’t Know 0.00 5 12.31 3.92
6. Christians Yes 18.52 52 81.54 60.78
No 77.77 42 10.77 33.33
Don’t Know 3.70 6 7.69 5.88
7. Women Yes 3.70 61 78.46 37.25
No 96.30 33 13.85 58.82
Don’t Know 0.00 6 7.69 3.92

326

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