Pakistani madrassahs still breeding Jihadis

$3 billion of US taxpayer's money is going towards reinforcing arms and ammunition in Pakistan...instead of reforming the madrassahs...

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/FF23Df05.html

...According to a seminal report on Pakistan's failed promises to reduce extremism by the International Crisis Group, in 2002 Musharraf's government made key pledges regarding madrassa reforms. They were: a) The government would register all madrassas so that it had a clear idea of which groups were running which schools; b) The government would regulate the curriculum so that all madrassas would adopt a government curriculum by the end of 2002; c) The government would adopt measures to stop the use of madrassas and mosques as centers for the spread of politically and religious inflammatory statements and publications; and d) The government would establish model madrassas that would provide modern, useful education and not promote extremism.

Of these promises, none has even come close to reality. The only one where the Pakistani government even made an effort was with the establishment of "model" madrassas. But reports indicate that so far just three model madrassas have been set up, with 300 students in total. This pales in comparison to the estimated 1.6 million students in the 25,000 official madrassas in Pakistan...

...The Western reaction to the madrassa problem in Pakistan, led by America, has unfortunately been typical. First there was a total denial of the seriousness of the issue. Now it has been reduced to blindly throwing money at the issue, hoping that the Pakistanis will fix the problem themselves. Recently, the US committed to a five-year, $3 billion assistance package to Pakistan, over and above other aid and loan deferments. Of this money, 50% is slated for non-military "development" purposes, with clear emphasis on building a secular education infrastructure. But the follow-up to ensure that the aid money goes where it is supposed to has been absent.

For instance, Pakistan recently announced its budget for the current fiscal year 2004-05. The US$15.5 billion budget has $5.3 billion allocated for defense and a total of $200 million for education - primary, secondary and higher education combined. The defense budget, at a time of peace talks with rival India, increased by over 20%, while the education allocation had a minimal increase in the background of Pakistan's grandiose promises of massive education sector reform. As a comparison, it is worth noting that US expert Alex Alexiev of the Center for Security Policy stated in his testimony to the US Senate last year that foreign funding (mainly Saudi) of Pakistan's madrassas is "estimated at no less than $350 million per year"...