NRDF - National Research & Development Foundation, Peshawar

Ulama’s Knowledge, Attitude & Practices Study about Girls’ Education in Kohat District

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1. People of Kohat district are predominantly Muslims; an overwhelming portion thereof is Sunnis, bulk of whom belongs to Deobandi school of thought. Shias in the district mainly inhabit area between Kohat and Hangu towns.
2. Ulama are usually associated with religious institutions: mosque, madrassa and tablighi markaz, which are many in numbers in the area.
3. Youth get educated in the madrassas in large numbers. More than half of the madrassas have arrangements for students’ residence. The resident students generally are from distant places.
4. Students graduating annually from madrassas in increasing number end up as Ulama adopting similar functions as their predecessors.
5. Religious sciences: Quran, Hadith and Fiqa are taught in the madrassas. Yet a larger number of these institutions enable students to remember Quran by heart in addition to teaching small children of the vicinity to be able to read the Quranic text.
6. About one quarter of the madrassas also teach some aspects of formal education subjects such as mathematics, literacy and other primary level subjects.
7. A very small percentage of Ulama are female, though their number is steadily increasing, as are new madrassas for female continuously being established.
8. A significant section of Ulama are also educated in formal subjects and in certain cases to high levels.
9. Majority of Ulama consider education, including school education as a religious obligation, equally for both the sexes. However, it has been observed that in real life they do not advocate the same messages.
10. They are also of the view that education is a right of every child and can be legally claimed if denied.