The impact of universal primary education on Quran schools: A case study of Wakiso schools
Abstract
From the onset, secular education was looked at as "haram" (unlawful), misleading and
innovated. Most early moslems considered it a way of interfering with the smooth running
of Quran schools. Integration of secular education in Quran schools, although some sheiks
spent a long time studying Islamic religious sciences from Quran educational systems, they
(sheiks) were not equipped with practical skills needed for earning decent material needs.
Many resorted to begging their followers and misappropriating funds donated donated for
religious and community purposes. Muslim children who wanted secular could by no
means escape the atmosphere of missionary schools in which they (muslim children) were
subject to humiliation, alienation, incessant and Islamic prejudice therefore the
development of UMEA vanished the risk of conversion and muslim children studied with
new confidence. The study also indicates while Muslims picked interest to integrate Quran
education, several muslim parents have taken their children to traditionally hated secular
education, in the expensive private schools that have both traditional Quran education and
this indicates crisis between the secular and Quran education persist upto date. Before 1930
some schools had been started by colonial government to assist Muslims to acquire secular
education, however the standards in these schools were quite low and kept on detoriating
(16). The marginalization of Muslims in Education during colonial and after has
bequeathed a lasting legacy that generations of Muslims will wrestle with for a long time, a
number of muslim values are abused and neglected in many integrated schools. As a result
of falling standards in many muslim schools in 1939, the director of education instructed
Musa Musoke one of the leading educationalists to inspect muslim schools and make
recommendation that may uplift Muslim school standards because by 1940, general
Muslim schools were in sorry state: only one primary school had up to six classes (15).
There were also four classes and seven selected subgrade schools receiving grants from
local boards. And when the government realized controlling schools by various
denominational groups would interfere with it's massive education, it recommended the
abolition of denomination education