LSBE Non-Formal Education System

Why LSBE in Madaris
A vast majority of Madaris in Pakistan are run on charity (zakat = alms, khairat = charity, atiat = gifts etc.) provided by individuals, businessmen or financial assistance by foreign governments as well as some of the individuals abroad. In 2001-02 a total of Rs. 1,654,000 was distributed among the Madaris, where the number of students was 1,065,277, which make Rs 1.55 per student per year. However, not all Madaris accept financial help from the government so the money might not be distributed as evenly as the above calculations suggest.

Official estimates count at least 10,000 Madaris in the country, however; the independent sources suggest it as high as 25,000 (Cline, 2004). Due to lack of information and proper guidance regarding their Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, this group like other youth groups in Pakistan is also prone to risky situations such as sexual exploitation resulting in sexually transmitted infections and other life threatening problems.

Due to lower tuition fees, these Madaris attract very poor students who would not receive any education otherwise. According to a survey by the Institute of Policy Studies, 64 percent students come from rural areas and belong to poor agrarian families. About 76.6 percent of the teachers also belong to the same socio-economic group as their students.

Due to our socio-cultural setup, this group has its own significance in our community but still in Pakistan very few policies and programmes for young people address the needs of this specific group. Due to stigma, limited resources and gaps in information, the public and social sectors have not been able to address the needs of the growing Madaris-youth population. WPF – Pakistan believes in providing Life-Skills Based Education-LSBE to young population in Pakistan to build their capacity by providing them skills to adopt positive, healthy and responsible behaviours and deal with the changes that occur during puberty.

Why Young people in Madaris are important
Youth in Madaris is more at risk than the general population of youth due to the fact that majority of these young people live away from their families, are very young (mostly in teenage) and have less knowledge about their body protection, health and hygiene, saying no the drugs and peer pressure as well as their Reproductive Health and Rights. Hence they are more at risk of sexual abuse / exploitation by their seniors leading to STIs and risk of serious life threatening illnesses like HIV & AIDS. Since they are not with their family, they may not be able to timely report any offence to their parents / guardians.

Our Philosophy for LSBE in Madaris
WPF is not an implementing agency rather its philosophy is to build the local capacity so it works through local partner NGOs in respective districts and tries to maintains an excellent relationship for the effective implementation of projects by providing technical assistance and supervision throughout the project. WPF’s access to Madaris in Peshawar, Quetta and Punjab is through local NGOs (i.e. PIDS, PVDP and Sarsabz Foundation respectively) who received requests from various Madaris in their provinces to provide Life Skills Education to both male and female students.

Implementation Process

Signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Partners and request for submitting students’ enrolment form signed by Madaris principals with the names of all enrolled students in the age bracket of 10-18 yaers Madaris wise.

Drafting and composing of LSBE Curriculum for Madaris: With the support from a religious teacher, WPF will finalize the contents and design of the LSBE-Teachers’ Guide as well as Students’ Workbook.

Formation of Ulema Committee & Finalization of the LSBE Curriculum for Madaris: A committee in each district will be established, a six (6) member committee will be formed selecting one Aalim each from the short listed and finalized Madaris in each district. The members of the committees will be nominated by the partner organization. The committee will be responsible for reviewing and finalizing the content for the curriculum, teachers’ guide and the work book to be implemented in Madaris during the course of this Project and carry out monitoring and evaluation activities in the Madaris with Project coordinator.

A two day meeting of Ulema committee will also be organized at WPF, Islamabad office for the finalization of the curriculum.

Recruitment of Master Trainers to work in Madaris: To implement the project effectively in Madaris, one male and one female teacher/staff will be recruited in each district to work with the partner organizations to deliver the LSBE curriculum.

Training of Master Trainers (MTs): Training of master trainers (previously called as Male and Female teachers) will be held to build the capacity of implementing partners’ staff on LSBE and its implementation in Madaris.

Pre Test with Students and Madaris Teachers: This will help assess the level of knowledge, behaviour and practices of teachers and students in their respective areas. The report will be published and shared with all stake holders for review and comments.

Training of Teachers: After three months of LSBE curriculum implementation in schools, capacity building training for Madaris teachers, will be conducted to sustain the project as teachers will be able to deliver LSBE modules in future on their own once the project funding completes.

Implementation of LSBE curriculum in Madaris: Implementation in Madaris will start from the first week of April 2009, a ten (10) week course will be taught in the Madaris. After the training, the Master Trainers will implement the project and LSBE curriculum in Madaris with young people. This will include:

• Delivery of LSBE Curriculum on weekly basis
• Counseling services for individual cases
• Regular health checkup facility by local area doctor
• Recreational activities including Sports/games

Medical screening of the students: One male and one female doctor will be requested to visit Madaris on monthly basis to provide medical checkups for young boys and girls.

Infrastructure Development: Partners will be required to submit a request for the infrastructure development of the Madaris with complete analysis of their needs and requirements. Madaris will also require submitting a document/evidence that they have received a grant from WPF and Partner.

Monitoring & Supervision: WPF and implementing partners with the help of Ulema Committees will be responsible for monitoring and evaluation of the project to ensure its effective and efficient implementation in the Madaris.

Post Test: After completion of the project a post assessment will be carried out through post test questionnaires as well as focus group discussions to gauge the changes in level of knowledge, skills, behaviours and practices of young people after project completion.

Results Assessment: Based on the findings, an analysis of pre and post assessment findings will be documented and shared with partners and other relevant stakeholders.

Report Launch & Learning Forum: Learning Forum will be organized to share the learning of the project, all the stake holders, relevant government departments and concerned civil society organizations will be invited at the Forum. A series of forums will be organized at the districts as well as at the National level.

What we want to achieve through this project
Through this project we aim to:

• Improve the quality of life of young people in Madaris of Pakistan by providing them Life Skills Based Education.
• Empowers students to adopt safe health seeking behaviours and protect them from abuse, exploitation, drugs and diseases.
• Equip the youth with skills, knowledge and attitudes which help them make informed decisions, manage feelings, communicate effectively with others and practice positive, health-seeking behaviour regarding their Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.
• Provide a model for others i.e. civil society organization, Government departments etc. to work for the scaling up of LSBE in Madaris in Pakistan.