I have written on Facebook on several occasions about the existential crisis facing the Alia education system and the urgent need for reform. I have repeatedly emphasized that the crisis confronting this educational stream is not merely a crisis of examination results. It is intertwined with deeper problems concerning the quality of education, the academic environment, teaching standards, supervision, accountability, curriculum and syllabus, and, above all, the examination and assessment system.
The results of this year’s Dakhil examinations are a stark manifestation of this multifaceted and long-standing crisis.
This year, the Dakhil pass rate fell to 55.49 percent, compared with 75.71 percent last year. In other words, the pass rate declined by more than 20 percentage points in just one year. Of the 307,087 registered students, 296,182 sat for the examinations. Of these, 164,797 passed, while 132,185 failed.
The institution-level results are even more alarming. Last year, 410 madrasas achieved a 100 percent pass rate; this year, the number fell to just 88. Conversely, the number of madrasas in which not a single student passed rose from 82 to 226. Meanwhile, the number of madrasas with pass rates below 10 percent increased from 106 to 256.
This is clearly not a matter of failure confined to a handful of underperforming madrasas. Rather, it points to widespread and structural weaknesses within the Alia education system.
The question is: **Why has this happened?**
The examination environment was stricter this year than in previous years. Technology-assisted monitoring and discipline appear to have been strengthened, while opportunities for unethical assistance at examination centres seem to have been substantially reduced. As a result, the gap that may previously have existed in some cases between students’ actual preparation and learning outcomes, on the one hand, and their examination results, on the other, may have become much more visible this time.
This raises an extremely important question:
**Did previous examination results accurately reflect our students’ actual learning outcomes?**
If they did not, it would be a mistake to view this year’s results merely as an “examination results disaster.” Instead, we should regard them as an opportunity to confront the educational self-deception that may have persisted for years.
And this is where the situation becomes even more alarming.
If the upcoming Fazil and Kamil examinations are conducted under similarly strict supervision and discipline, with effective measures to prevent irregularities, there is little reason to dismiss the possibility of another major decline in results.
The consequences will not be confined to examination statistics. Some students may become discouraged from continuing their studies at higher levels, new admissions may decline, and certain madrasas—particularly weaker institutions in rural and peripheral areas—may gradually face a severe shortage of students.
In other words, today’s Dakhil results may affect the future of Fazil and Kamil education, student enrolment in madrasas, and ultimately the very survival of the Alia educational stream.
# Where Do the Fundamental Weaknesses Lie?
One of the major weaknesses of the Alia education system is that, in many cases, getting students to pass examinations has been treated as a substitute for educational success. Far less attention has been paid to fundamental questions: What have students actually learned? How well do they understand what they study? How developed are their linguistic and analytical skills? And how strong is their foundation in Arabic and Islamic knowledge?
The educational environment in many madrasas is also unsatisfactory. In particular, numerous institutions in relatively disadvantaged and remote areas suffer from serious shortcomings in teaching standards, regular classroom instruction, student attendance, parental involvement, and academic supervision.
The situation at the Fazil and Kamil levels is often even more concerning. In some institutions, students are enrolled but do not attend classes regularly; in others, teachers themselves appear insufficiently committed to regular teaching. I personally know of some madrasas where virtually no significant classes are held at the Fazil and Kamil levels for months on end.
Consequently, in many cases, the educational process has become limited to last-minute examination preparation, passing examinations through unethical means, and ultimately obtaining a certificate, rather than acquiring genuine knowledge.
No educational system can survive for long in this manner.
There are, of course, exceptions. Some Alia madrasas in the country continue to achieve excellent results and set examples of maintaining educational standards.
This is a source of hope. It demonstrates that good examination results and quality education are both possible within the Alia stream when there is sound management, regular teaching, qualified teachers, accountability, and effective academic leadership.
The problem, therefore, is not an inherent incapacity of the Alia educational stream. Rather, it stems, to a considerable extent, from failures in management, leadership, supervision, and the assurance of educational quality.
# Who Is Responsible?
It would be unacceptable to place all the blame on teachers. Nor would blaming only the Ministry of Education or the education boards resolve the problem.
Responsibility rests with:
1. The Ministry of Education and the relevant administrative authorities;
2. The Directorate of Madrasah Education, universities, and education boards;
3. The governing bodies and administrations of madrasas;
4. Teachers and teachers’ associations;
5. Parents and guardians; and
6. Above all, the community of scholars who provide leadership to the Alia educational stream.
However, the responsibilities of the state and the relevant authorities deserve particular attention.
An educational stream of this magnitude has been plagued by various problems for years: declining educational standards, weak academic environments, teacher shortages, inadequate training, student absenteeism, poor classroom instruction at the Fazil and Kamil levels, examination-centred education, and glaring disparities among institutions.
Can the authorities really be unaware of these problems?
Certainly not.
The question, then, is this:
**Despite knowing about these problems, where are the necessary, effective, and visible initiatives to address them—initiatives that should have been undertaken over the past decade or two?**
Establishing administrative structures, opening offices, conducting inspections, or arranging a few training programmes does not, by itself, discharge one’s responsibilities. Their tangible impact must be evident at the institutional level.
An effective system of academic monitoring and accountability is essential to investigate fundamental questions: Are classes being held regularly in every madrasa? Are teachers fulfilling their teaching responsibilities properly? What are students actually learning? What support is being provided to weaker students? Why are examination results consistently poor in certain institutions? And why have tendencies towards examination malpractice taken root?
The reality, however, is that many madrasas continue to operate year after year despite persistently poor results. In some places, teachers are present but effective teaching is absent; in others, students are enrolled but do not attend classrooms; and in still others, certificates are awarded despite weak educational foundations.
How much longer will such a system be left to languish in neglect?
# The Greatest Crisis: A Crisis of Guardianship!
In my view, the most troubling aspect of the current crisis in the Alia education system is its crisis of guardianship.
The relevant state institutions are not giving the system sufficient priority or adopting comprehensive, long-term plans for its future. Some madrasa authorities remain confined to managing their own institutions and give little thought to the future of the wider educational stream. Meanwhile, some members of the scholarly community are far more active in internal disputes, positions, titles, and various other matters than they are in pursuing fundamental reforms and developing a long-term vision for Alia education.
As a result, the Alia education system appears to have fallen into a crisis of clear guardianship and sustained, long-term leadership.
If an educational stream fails for years to undertake meaningful reforms in its educational standards, curriculum, teacher recruitment, academic environment, and assessment system, its very existence will eventually be called into question. That is only to be expected.
# There Is Still Time—but Time Is Running Out!
This year’s results must not be allowed to become merely a subject of discussion, frustration, and social media posts for a few days.
These results are, in fact, a mirror.
In this mirror, we are seeing not only the weaknesses of our students, but also:
- The weaknesses of our educational management;
- The crisis in teaching standards;
- Inadequate academic supervision;
- A lack of accountability;
- Inconsistencies in curricula and syllabuses;
- The widespread and long-standing practice of examination malpractice; and
- Above all, the consequences of years of institutional neglect.
Even more alarming is the possibility that the crisis will deepen if this year’s disastrous results fail to serve as a wake-up call.
If poor results continue, students will lose interest in enrolling in madrasas. Talented students will move to other educational streams. Weak institutions will become even weaker, and teaching standards will deteriorate further. Eventually, many madrasas may survive in name only, without either a meaningful student body or quality education in practice.
At that point, we may once again ask:
**Whatever happened to the Alia education system?**
By then, however, it may be too late.
The Alia education system is not merely an examination-oriented educational arrangement; it is an important educational tradition with a long history in the Muslim community of this country. Preserving its religious character and heritage requires us not to conceal its weaknesses, but to identify them fearlessly and undertake reforms courageously.
Reform does not mean destroying the distinctive identity of Alia education. Rather, it means preserving its fundamental religious characteristics while developing a contemporary, high-quality, and effective educational system in which students can genuinely become Islamic scholars while also acquiring the knowledge and competence needed to address contemporary intellectual challenges and societal needs.
This requires, above all:
- A comprehensive academic audit;
- Effective field-level supervision;
- Improved teaching standards and teacher training;
- Regular classroom instruction;
- The establishment of academic discipline at the Fazil and Kamil levels;
- The timely revision of curricula and syllabuses;
- Assessment of students’ actual learning outcomes;
- Full transparency in the examination system;
- Special academic support for underperforming institutions; and
- Above all, effective accountability.
## A Respectful but Firm Appeal to the Authorities
Do not treat this year’s Dakhil results merely as the outcome of an examination. Treat them as a **health assessment report for the Alia education system**.
And an appeal to the scholarly community:
How many more examination-result crises must we endure before we finally awaken?
Will we wait for another disastrous set of results, or will we now assume our rightful responsibility as the genuine guardians of the Alia education system?
What the Alia education system needs most at this moment is not self-deception, but self-criticism; not evasion of responsibility, but accountability; and not temporary patchwork, but fundamental reform.
**The time has come to stand firmly and sincerely beside the Alia education system and work to preserve its future.**