METHODS AND ANALYTICAL APPROACH

    INTRODUCTION

    STUDY AREA

    METHODS & ANALYSIS

• SURVEY & DATA COLLECTION
• INTERVIEWS
• DISCUSSIONS
• PUBLIC DISSEMINATION
• WORK PLAN CHART

    IMAGE GALLERY

    LINKS & RESOURCES

   CONTACTS

Considering the complexity of the issue, multiple research methodologies will be employed to achieve the research and policy objectives of the project.

a)    Geographical Information System (GIS) Based Analysis:

          The geographic location of madrassahs in each of the two study regions will be mapped using ESRI-Arc software. Initial mapping of Ahmedpur madrassahs has already been initiated. Data on household income, literacy, environmental factors (agricultural productivity, access to water and food), will be overlaid onto the madrassah data set for demographic comparison and to establish any spatial clustering trends.

b)   Survey/Primary Data Collection:

          Primary data collection by actual physical survey of all Madrassahs in the two geographical regions – Ahmedpur and Islamabad will be carried out. Two groups of field workers/interns will collect the data, on a pre-designed performa. The field workers will be trained in a workshop in order to ensure integrity and uniformity of data. All survey data will be collected using interview transcription to avoid comprehension error in linguistically diverse areas. Mechanism for cross checking will be provided in data collection and the survey design. Data on the following key variables will be collected:

• School enrollment and age cohorts of students and teachers;

• Qualifications of teachers;

• Curricular subjects and time devoted to each subject;

• Services offered to students – free meals, board, books, travel expenses;

• Funding from sources such as local land-owners, foreign donations, political parties and other sources

• Specific questions on the teaching of Pakistani history and the Kashmir conflict will be asked;

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c)   Interviews with other stakeholders: 

          Structured and semi-structured interviews will be held with the following stakeholders: managers and teachers at madrassahs and schools; leaders and officials of local government; alumni of madrassahs and notable donors from the community; senior government officials dealing with the issue at Federal and Provincial level, in Ministry of Interior, Home and Religious Affairs. Members of newly established Pakistan Madrassah Education Board and law-enforcement officials who have records of any complaints of sectarian violence from madrassahs. Special arrangements have been made for anonymous interviews with the Criminal Investigation Department and Crises Management Cell (departments responsible for anti-terrorism operation) to determine any direct linkages between Madrassah graduates and terrorist/criminal activity.

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d)    Focus Group Discussions:

          Once data is compiled, and analyses done focused group discussions will be held, with leading religious leaders, government functionaries and officials of law enforcement agencies in order to revalidate the findings. The hypothesis that Madrassahs are filling the void created by poor delivery of education and social services has not been addressed in any previous analysis. This important proposition will be further tested through in-depth oral histories and feedback in focus group sessions.

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Public Dissemination of Findings:

The report prepared at the end of the project will be launched at a meeting of academics, religious scholars and educational officials from Pakistan, India and other interested observers, focused on a conflict assessment of the role of education in resolving the Kashmir territorial dispute.1 The meeting will be held in a neutral location in the region to minimize costs of travel. One possible location for this event is the capital of Kazakhstan, Almaty. The findings will be presented with a view of trying to institute change on both sides of the border. A video on the project will be prepared prior to this event and launched at the conference, with subsequent release to TV outlets in South Asia and abroad. Serendip Productions, led my Ms. Huma Beg has joined the team and will produce the video. This effort will be merged with the principal investigator’s related project on using environmental education as a means of consensus-building in the Kashmir valley.

The workability of a proposed strategy of the government to reform the Madrassahs needs to be critically analyzed and will be a focus of the project, within the broader issue of reducing militancy and attaining sustainable peace in the region.

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Work plan Chart:

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