WPF held a 2 day Consultative Workshop with Ulema’s Rehbar Committee for Madaris Project

A 2 day “Consultative workshop” was held at WPF Islamabad on 3rd and 4th March 2009, with Ulema from NWFP and Baluchistan and WPF’s implementing partner organizations: Pakistan Village Development Programme – PVDP and Participatory Integrated Development Society – PIDS.

The consultative meeting was the first step of implementing Life Skills Based Education Programme in Non Formal Education Systems which includes Madaris in Pakistan. A total of 15 participants took part in the workshop and shared their suggestions to strategize the programme, develop effective implementation strategy and tools for the same.

Followings are the outcomes of the consultative workshop:

• Consensus to introduce LSBE into Religious Schools – Madaris.
• 1st Draft of LSBE Curriculum was finalized for young students enrolled in Madaris.
• Mechanism for implementation of LSBE in Madaris was devised.
• Structure and functions of various Ulema committees to ensure effective implementation of pilot phase of LSBE.

Several groups of Ulema were constituted to effectively run the programme. In this regard a meeting of the Expert group of Rehbar Committee (Steering Committee of the Religious Scholars) will be held on 22nd and 23rd March 2009, where as the first training of master trainers will be held from 5th – 7th April, 2009 at Islamabad.

World Population Foundation especially regards and acknowledges the efforts and openness of Ulema for initiating this unique project, which is the first effort of its kind, not merely in Pakistan but any Muslim country.