Qawmi madrasa body introduces new rules to protect students

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Al-Haiatul Ulya Lil-Jamiatil Qawmia Bangladesh has introduced new directives for the country’s six Qawmi madrasa boards and their affiliated institutions to prevent student abuse and other unethical activities.

Under the new rules, physical punishment of students is completely prohibited. Every madrasa must establish or reform and activate a student protection committee. Complaints of abuse, misconduct or harassment must be investigated, with a report submitted within seven days.

The organisation warned that a madrasa could face suspension or cancellation of its affiliation if it does not have an active protection committee or fails to respond to complaints.

The directives were issued following recent reports and allegations of student abuse and unethical conduct at some Qawmi madrasas. They were also based on educational and tarbiyah-related writings of scholars including Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi and Maulana Muhammad Zakaria Kandhalvi, along with fatwas from recognised Islamic institutions.

The rules prohibit teachers from beating students, using sticks or other objects to hit them, striking sensitive parts of the body, or imposing punishment that could cause serious physical injuries. Public humiliation, verbal abuse, offensive remarks, derogatory names and other forms of mental abuse are also prohibited.

Teachers found violating the directives will face accountability under Shariah and relevant rules.

Madrasas have also been instructed to allow students, teachers and staff to submit complaints. In serious cases, an accused person may temporarily be relieved of their duties while an investigation is underway. Regular Islahi Majlis, teacher training gatherings and parent meetings have also been recommended.

Each Qawmi madrasa board has been directed to establish a monitoring cell and a dedicated hotline for complaints. The boards, madrasa authorities and protection committees are expected to work together on impartial investigations.

The directives also call for checking the character and credibility of prospective teachers and staff before recruitment. At the same time, the organisation said legal steps should be taken to protect innocent teachers and institutions from false allegations or unfounded reports.

Al-Haiatul Ulya said genuine criminal or unethical conduct should be investigated fairly and dealt with through legal proceedings, while isolated incidents should not be used to generalise about the entire Qawmi madrasa system.

According to governing committee member Musleh Uddin Raju, the six education boards will be mainly responsible for implementing the directives. He said the boards already have inspection teams and monitoring systems that regularly visit affiliated madrasas.

Raju said more than 50,000 Qawmi madrasas are currently registered under the six boards, including around 35,000 registered with Befaqul Madarisil Arabia Bangladesh.