In August 2006, the Bangladeshi government decided to recognize 'Dawra degree' of the Qaumi madrasas as equivalent to Masters Degree in Islamic Studies or Arabic literature. This is considered by many as an incision in the edifice of the country's education system.

Bangladesh has a three level education system (Primary, Secondary and Higher) and madrasas constitute an important institutional arrangement under each level. The madrasa system is divided into two categories -Aliya (literally means the 'exalted one') and Qaumi (meaning 'of the community'). Aliya madrasas are registered with and supervised by the Bangladesh Madrasa Education Board. The Qaumi madrasas function independent of any governmental control. The former is a distinctive combine of modern and religious education whereas the latter follows the Deoband syllabus where knowledge of modern science is not imparted and emphasis is on Arabic, Persian and Urdu languages.

The decision to recognize the Dawra degree is fraught with problems. Firstly, it does not take into account the deplorable standard of Qaumi madrasas which still impart Dars-i-Nizami, ('dars' means 'to teach' and 'Nizami' is taken from Mullah Nizzamuddin who designed this particular curriculum) a course based on worldly knowledge, comprising of subjects like rhetoric, prosody, logic, philosophy, Arabic literature, the life of the prophet, mathematics, polemics, Islamic law, jurisprudence, and Hadith (sayings of Prophet Muhammad) and tafsir (explanation of the Quran). The curriculum was drawn during the Mughal era to provide training for administrative jobs. Although it has undergone considerable transformation (for example inclusion of 'Bangla' as a medium of instruction and addition of English as a compulsory subject at the primary level), it can best be termed as antediluvian in comparison to a regular university curriculum.

Secondly, the decision is driven by electoral concerns rather than a commitment to improve the madrasa system. The Islami Oikya Jote (IOJ) chairman, Mufti Fazlul Huq Aminee is deeply involved in the designing of curriculum and overseeing examinations of the Qaumi madrasas. The IOJ has been campaigning for the last four years for the recognition of the Dawra degree. On the other hand, Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) backs the Aliya madrasas offering 'Fazil' (graduate) and 'Kamil' (post graduate) degrees. The Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS), the student wing of JeI controls 98 percent of the Aliya madrasas and it is well known that many extremists are former ICS members. With the process of awarding Masters level recognition to Fazil-Kamil degrees in the final stages, the government is aggressively pursuing politics of appeasement in view of the 2007 general elections.

Thirdly, though recognition to Dawra and to Fazil Kamil degrees will definitely increase career options of madrasa students, its long term ramifications are worrying. It will enable a number of madrasa graduates to compete in the Bangladesh Civil Service examinations. Though this will be a boon for the meritorious students coming from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, it will facilitate youths belonging to Islamist organizations to slink into public administration. Such a move will increase the criminalization of Bangladeshi bureaucracy which may further weaken the already smeared and ossifying democratic setup of the country.

Lastly, the internal security situation has worsened after the bombings of 18 August 2005, increasing surveillance of Bangladeshi madrasas by international intelligence agencies. Many of the arrested Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) extremists have proven links with madrasas. For example, Mohammed Asadullah al Ghalib, a top JMB leader, admitted to having spent funds received from the Kuwait based Revival of Islamic Heritage Society for building mosques and madrasas and giving military style training to madrasa students. Though there is danger in labeling madrasa as 'jihad factories', one cannot ignore the fact that they are increasingly being used in Bangladesh for fomenting religious extremism and indoctrination of hundreds of youth.

The only positive to be drawn from the formal recognition of the Dawra degree is that it will facilitate government regulation of Qaumi madrasas. For long, the ulema have stoically resisted measures to reform the madrasa system and to reduce the gulf between religious and modern secular education. A committee is to be constituted to frame rules and regulations and institutional framework to implement the decision. However, the success of the committee would depend upon the power vested in it, its constitution and the will and motivation of the government towards mainstreaming madrasas.

Madrasas cannot be wished away. They serve an important function in an impoverished state like Bangladesh where more than half the population lives below poverty line. There are approximately nine thousand Aliya and fifteen thousand Qaumi madrasas in Bangladesh accounting for fifteen percent of the total school going population at primary and higher secondary levels. Neither banning them nor blind recognition of their degrees is a solution. What is required is a concerted effort to modernize their curriculum and then gradually bring them under a unified education system. This will not only help obliterate class distinctions among youths but can countervail the influence of Islamist organizations in the country. Education should not become a captive of petty politics for therein begins the degeneration of a society.