Bangsamoro Ministry Aims to Make Madaris Education a Balanced and Viable Option for Bangsamoro Learners

BARMM Member of Parliament and Education Minister Mohagher M. Iqbal wants to leave behind a legacy of a good Madaris Education, well balanced and viable

BARMM News

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COTABATO CITY — Bangsamoro Member of Parliament and Education Minister Mohagher M. Iqbal wears many hats in the Mindanao peace process.

One of the hats he wore was as a former chief negotiator of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the negotiations with the Philippine government.

As the head of the Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE), on the primary ministries of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) since 2019, Iqbal wants to leave a Madaris Education that is orderly and in a good system for the region. (Madaris is plural of madrasah, which is translated to Islamic school.)

At the recently concluded 1st BARMM Education Summit held in Davao City on December 5-6, the former chief negotiator of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) laid down the steps and programs the MBHTE is pursuing to fulfill his goals for a balanced and viable Madaris Education.

“We hope that one of the enduring legacies of the BARMM government is the enhancement of the Madaris Education system,” Iqbal said in his State of Education Address (SOEA) he delivered at the summit.

Perhaps, according to Iqbal, one of the most common misconceptions about madrasah is that it only teaches Islamic religious subjects.

“While Islamic education and values are a significant part of its curriculum,

Madaris can also be a center of quality secular learning,” he emphasized, adding the MBHTE aims to make Madaris Education a balanced and viable option for learners in the Bangsamoro.

He said one of the goals of the MBHTE is to nurture and produce young professional leaders (A’lim) who are globally competitive. To fulfill this, the ministry must ensure the hiring of qualified asatidz and Islamic Studies and Arabic Language (ISAL) teachers through a merit-based hiring process.

MBHTE sustains assistance for Madaris Education

In his address, Iqbal underscored the accomplishments of the Madaris Education Directorate for the past years.

“In July 2021, qualifying examinations for ISAL teacher applicants were held. After the review process, 3,977 ISAL teachers passed and have been deployed throughout the region by the end of December 2021.

In 2022, 527 ISAL teachers from Sulu and 364 from Tawi-Tawi were hired, increasing the number to 4,868. The ministry also increased their salaries from Php12,000 to Php16,200.

As part of their professional development, ISAL teacher-asatidz underwent a five-day in-service (InSeT) training to enhance their facilitating skills, enrich their knowledge, attitudes, and values on the different teaching strategies or methodologies, and establish camaraderie among themselves.

The Madaris Education Directorate has also oriented and trained 234 private madaris administrators on the standard madrasah curriculum and the necessary quality assurance processes to manage madaris smoothly.

In addition to hiring competent teachers, the MBHTE aims to standardize and accredit all madrasahs operating in the region. From June 17 to 21, 2021, the ministry conducted ocular inspections of 30 private madaris applying for Permits to Operate (PTO).

Finally, the MBHTE extended support to private madaris through government subsidies. During SY 2020 to 2021, the Government released financial assistance to 18,630 learners from 64 madaris, amounting to more than Php93 million. In SY 2021 to 2022, a total of 22,101 learners from 117 recognized madaris benefitted from the subsidy.” (/)