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