Employment and Expectations of Former Madrasa Students in Cox’s Bazar: A

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Employment and Expectations of Former Madrasa Students in Cox’s Bazar: A

Cross-Sectional Exploration

Md. Shakil Ahmed, Nuzaba Tahreen Rahman, and Khandker Wahedur Rahman

BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), BRAC University

2021

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Acknowledgement

We want to thank all BRAC Skill Development Programme (SDP) colleagues for their continuous support. Specifically, we are grateful to Tasmiah T Rahman, Head of Strategy and Business Development (Current in Charge), SDP, BRAC, and Shifur Rahman Shakil, Manager, Technology for Development, SDP, BRAC, for their co- operation, coordination, as well as for providing us with necessary programmatic information and feedback on the questionnaires, methodology, and report. We would also like to express our sincere thanks to the reviewers for their insightful comments and feedback on the report.

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to Dr Imran Matin, Executive Director, BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), BRAC University, and Dr Narayan C Das, Senior Research Fellow, BIGD, for their continuous support and guidance throughout the study.

We convey our thanks to the enumerators who devoted their time and knowledge to the implementation of this study.

Last but not least, we acknowledge the diligence of the Data and Field Management team of BIGD and the patience of the respondents, whose contribution made the research meaningful.

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List of Tables

Table 1: Demographic Characteristics ... 10

Table 2: Sector-Wise Employment ... 15

Table 3: Willingness to Take Part in Training ... 16

Table 4: Types of Training Needed ... 17

Table 5: Level of Education and Income Expectation With and Without Training .... 18

Table 6: Future Job Aspirations ... 19

Table 7: Future Job Aspirations Based on Level of Education ... 19

Table 8: Financial Inclusion and Access to Smartphones and the Internet ... 21

List of Figures

Figure 1: Completed Different Levels of Education ... 11

Figure 2: Madrasa Education and a Job in a Non-Religious Institution ... 11

Figure 3: Level of Education and Opinion About Getting a Job in a Non-Religious Institution ... 12

Figure 4: The Perception of Usefulness by the Type of Madrasa ... 12

Figure 5: Scope of Improvement to Make Madrasa Education Practical ... 13

Figure 6: Scope of Improvement Based on the Type of Institutions ... 13

Figure 7: Scope of Improvement and Level of Education of the Respondents ... 14

Figure 8: Labor Distribution Based on Gender ... 15

Figure 9: Willingness to Take Part in Training ... 16

Figure 10: Reason for Interest in Training ... 17

Figure 11: Future Income Expectation With and Without Training ... 18

Figure 12: The Most Aspired Category of Occupation by the Type of Madrasa ... 20

Figure 13: Differences in the Desired Type of Businesses by Gender ... 20

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Executive Summary

For decades, religious education has been a significant part of the Bangladeshi education system. Among the available religious education systems, Islamic education through madrasas—primarily Alia and Qawmi—is the most dominant. It serves as a pathway for religious guidance along with its own curriculum. During the years 1950–

2008, there has been a huge explosion in the number of madrasas that have captured a third of the nation’s students. Over the years, the madrasa sector has only gotten larger and today it caters to over 3.81 million students of the country. However, with limited positions available for religious professions, the vast majority of the madrasa students have been left behind in the job sector that demands technical skills; the unemployment rate among madrasa students is around 75%. This increase in the number of madrasa students combined with the system’s failure to equip students with the necessary skills for today’s age merits a review as to how effectively they can integrate into the skilled workforce. Former madrasa students of Cox’s Bazar are of particular interest because of Rohingya influx-induced changes in the labour market.

BRAC Skills Development Program (SDP) finds it important to design programs that would promote skills development and facilitate employment generation. Before doing so, it is essential to understand this group’s employment status, expectations, and aspirations.

The primary objective of the study is to explore the current economic and labour market participation of former madrasa students in Cox’s Bazar district of Bangladesh.

It uses the respondent-driven sampling (RDS) technique for listing the target population. The respondents were asked to provide referrals to build the sample size.

Eventually, the study ended up with 1,038 eligible individuals, with the eligibility criteria requiring them to have a madrasa as their last educational institute, be 15–40 years of age, not currently enrolled in any educational institutions, and they must live in Cox’s Bazar district. Allowing comparisons wherever possible, the data have been juxtaposed with findings of the national youth survey conducted in January 2021 by the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD). The study has discovered numerous key findings, a few of which have been highlighted below:

• While looking at the distribution for the last level of education attained, Alia madrasa peaks at 54% for secondary education.

• Within Alia madrasa, men and women have very similar distributions at each education level; both peaks at secondary education and have subsequent drops in higher education levels.

• Most men are employed, while most women are out of the labour market doing household chores.

• There is a gender difference in the perception of the usefulness of madrasa education, while it does not vary by the type of madrasa attended. The majority of individuals think it is “somewhat helpful,” with males reporting at 48% and females at 63%.

• There is a scope of improvement in the curriculum to increase their productivity.

Most think the emphasis on English needs to be improved, totalling 68% of the respondents. Women seem to exhibit a stronger preference for English than

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their male counterparts at 86% and 65%, respectively. A similar trait is found for mathematics, in which 62% of the women show a preference compared to 44% of men.

• It can be seen that more than 90% of respondents wish to receive training. Most think that it will be easier for them to get a job if trained.

• Regarding training, most stated that they would like to be trained in information technology (IT)—around 64% for men and 52% for women. With training, both genders expect their future income to almost double.

These key findings are some of the most important observations that the study was able to point out. They give an early insight into why the graduates/dropouts from madrasa backgrounds are struggling and their current reality. Utilizing these findings will enable more effective action to improve the system that has many individuals under its care.

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1. Introduction

Madrasa is a seminal part of the educational system in Bangladesh and many other South Asian countries. It primarily follows a religious curriculum and teaches secular subjects in some cases. In Bangladesh, madrasas are broadly divided into two categories: Alia and Qawmi. The former, which provides both religious and secular education, is privately owned but subsidized and regulated by the government. The Madrasa Education Board mainly controls these Alia madrasas where students are offered to go through several levels such as “Dakhil,” “Alim,” “Fazil,” and “Kamil.”

The latter, on the other hand, are privately owned and funded religious institutions that offer only religious education and are operated outside of the state sector. These institutions aim at increasing students’ proficiency in Islamic theology, history, language, and customs. Other types of madrasas, such as Ebtedayee, Noorani, and Maqtab, fall under these two aforementioned broad categories (Islam, 2012).

Madrasas have been thriving in South Asia and continuously attracting more students from poor and deprived communities (Asadullah et al., 2013). Today, Alia Madrasa caters to around 8.18% of students in Bangladesh (Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics [BANBEIS], 2018). The report shows that the number of madrasas offering education from Dakhil to Kamil totalled 9,314 in 2016, and 99.97%

of these madrasas are privately managed. Dakhil (70%) constitutes the majority, followed by Alim (16%), Fazil (11%), and Kamil (2%). Among the total enrolled students in Dakhil madrasas in 2016, 59% of students were girls (BANBEIS, 2017). In comparison, traditional secondary education with approximately 54% of the students were girls. The report also revealed that the number of madrasas and students has grown in recent years. Between 1950 and 2008, the number of both types of madrasas grew about 12 times, from 4,430 to 54,130, and about a third of all the students in Bangladesh are enrolled in the madrasas all over the country (Behera, 2013). A daily newspaper reports that the total number of madrasa students was around 10 million in 2008; it stands at around 15 million in 2018. Of them, more than half are studying at Qawmi madrasas, where there are no government rules and regulations (“Three of Four Madrasa Students Remain Jobless,” 2018).

Low-income and or religious families and those who live far away from the non- religious schools are most likely to send their children to the madrasa (Asadullah et al., 2013). Lowering educational expenses is one of the prominent reasons for the growing number of madrasa students. Most residential madrasas have no or minimal fees as they are financed through local charities and international donors. Alia madrasas are registered for monthly payment orders (MPOs), which means that the government pays for the teachers’ salaries, while other costs are financed via donations or minimal fees. Moreover, many pursue a religious career, such as imam, muezzin, Islamic preacher, madrasa teacher, etc., in the hope of spiritual gains. These job positions, however, are limited in number, leaving three-quarters of the graduates unemployed (Behera, 2013). As a result, while the number of students obtaining madrasa-based education increases, their participation in the skill-based workforce remains relatively narrow.

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The widely discussed issue is the major obstacle that hinders madrasa graduates from getting desirable jobs. The madrasa education hardly promotes any marketable skills for the regular job market (Asadullah et al., 2009; Asadullah & Chaudhury, 2010). The Daily Star (“Three of Four Madrasa Students Remain Jobless,” 2018) reports that 75%

of the madrasa students remain jobless due to the lack of expertise. In a competitive labour market, employability depends on the educational outcome and professional and interpersonal skills. Several studies found that madrasa students severely lack the abilities and educational outcomes to compete in the labour market. Asadulla et al. (2007) found that the madrasa students have a significant overall learning deficit than secular students, while female students suffer the most compared to their male counterparts. Dhaka Tribune (Mamun & Shaon, 2018) reports that the narrow career opportunities for the madrasa students are mainly because they are not taught the basic skill set needed for mainstream jobs. Nevertheless, a few studies have found some positive outcomes of madrasa education. For example, (Asadullah, 2016) shows hardly any gap in math test scores between registered madrasa and secular school students at the secondary level. Moreover, the gender gap is visible in the learning outcomes. In Indonesia, for example, Newhouse and Beegle (2006) found that students attending religious institutions are no worse than the students attending secular schools in terms of educational outcomes.

Therefore, it has become essential to assess the reason behind madrasa graduates’

lower participation in skill-based jobs, particularly of those in Cox’s Bazar where the Rohingya influx added further challenges in terms of livelihood and work opportunities.

In this district, 396 madrasas (125 Qawmi and 145 Alia) are operating with about one lac students (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics [BBS], 2011). Analyzing the current economic and labour market outcomes of madrasa graduates and the relevance of madrasa education to the labour market requirements in Bangladesh can give proper insights to incorporate them both into the formal and informal job sectors.

Since its initiation in 2015, the BRAC Skills Development Program (SDP) has been working towards transforming the huge human capital of our country into skilled workers. Against the backdrop of the dearth of relevant skills and employment opportunities, this study assesses the employment status and earning performance of former madrasa students, explores their job sectors, identifies the skills that they perceive to lag and their demand for training opportunities to fill those gaps.

1.1. Objectives

The broad objective of this study is to explore the current economic and labour market participation and the expectations of the former madrasa students for better employment—participation in jobs with higher income—shortly. Specific objectives of the study are to:

• examine the employment status and future expectations,

• identify the right skills and training needed, and

• identify scopes for interventions.

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1.2. Scope of the Work

The geographical location of this study is Cox’s Bazar, and our target population is former madrasa students. We cover all the eight sub-districts and different madrasas running under different management systems, such as regulated and non-regulated madrasas.

2. Methodology

2.1. Listing the Target Individuals

We adopted a respondent-driven sampling (RDS) technique to produce a list of target populations. As it is difficult to get a list of dropout or graduated madrasa students, we ran a snowballing procedure to detect our targeted individuals. We conducted a phone-based survey, as the nationwide lockdown during the study period restricted our scope to do an in-person survey. Starting with 261 samples provided by BRAC, we ran 15 waves of surveys and built a list of 1,900 individuals after making 3,447 phone calls. Most of the phone calls (48%) were made during the first half of the day (from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.) and 32% after 5:00 p.m. In each wave, we tried to collect 3–5 referrals from every respondent. However, we were able to collect an average of one referral only. Finally, we ended up with 1,038 eligible individuals for the main survey.

During the listing, we called an individual four times in two days (twice a day) if we failed to reach them on the first call. The respondents received BDT 10 as an airtime transfer for each referral they provided. We allowed them to provide phone numbers of the referrals at their convenient time since many of them faced difficulties producing phone numbers during the survey.

2.2. Main Survey

The entire list of eligible samples obtained from the listing was considered as the sample for the main survey. The eligibility criteria were: (i) respondents’ last educational institution must be a madrasa from Cox’s Bazar, (ii) they must be graduates or dropouts, (iii) age ranges from 15 to 40 years, and (iv) the place of current residence is Cox’s Bazar. Eventually, we discarded those samples from the list who dropped out or graduated from institutions other than madrasa or are currently enrolled in an educational institution. Eventually, we had 1,038 eligible samples for the survey, and we could survey 75% of them successfully. Of those who could not be surveyed successfully, 76% were unreachable over the phone and 20% did not agree to talk.

2.3. Analytical Technique

We successfully surveyed 782 samples and use these numbers in the analysis. We mostly use descriptive statistics and generate cross tables and graphs to analyze,

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interpret, and present data and findings. We largely disaggregate and compare the results based on gender, completed level of education, and the type of last educational institutions respondents were enrolled in.

3. Results

3.1. Demographic Characteristics

Table 1 describes the demographic characteristics of the sample and the type of last educational institutions where they were enrolled in. Men make up most of our sample (84%) whose average age is 20 years. The average number of years of schooling is 8.9 years for men and 8.4 years for women. Alia madrasas account for around 89% of the total sample, while Qawmi and other madrasas make up the rest of 11%.

Table 1: Demographic Characteristics

Men Women Total

Gender distribution (%) 84 16 100

Age distribution (average years) 20 18 19

Average years of schooling 8.9 8.4 8.6

Type of madrasa enrolled

Alia (%) 83 17 89

Qawmi and others (%) 86 14 11

As Alia madrasas are government accredited and follow the standard grading system, we analyze the educational status only for those who completed their schooling from Alia madrasas. Of the 696 successfully interviewed samples from Alia madrasas, we found that most students completed only their secondary education. As shown in Figure 1, the majority dropped out just before passing the Secondary School Certificate (SSC)/Dakhil exam, and very few of them managed to reach the tertiary level of education.

We did not find any immense gap between men and women up to SSC/Dakhil exam.

On the contrary, a relatively large proportion of women (16%) appeared in Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC)/Alim exam, compared to their male (11%) counterparts.

However, at the tertiary level of education, the presence of women is nil in our sample.

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Figure 1: Completed Different Levels of Education

3.2. How Helpful is the Madrasa Education to Get a Job in a Non-Religious Institution?

During the survey, the respondents were asked how helpful the madrasa education is to get a job in non-religious institutions. We recorded three different responses—“not helpful,” “somewhat helpful,” and “very helpful.” We observe from Figure 2 that the majority of the individuals think that madrasa education is “somewhat helpful” for getting a job in non-religious institutions, with women at 63% and men at 48%. Identical figures appear at 18% for both men and women who think it is “not helpful.” Another key observation that can be made is the proportion of men who consider madrasa education as “very helpful” is almost twice as much as women who share the same view.

Figure 2: Madrasa Education and a Job in a Non-Religious Institution 8

54

25

11 3

6

48

29

16 0 0

20 40 60

Primary Secondary SSC/Dakhil Alim/HSC Fazil/Kamil

% of Alia madrasa sample

Men Women

19

48

33 18

63

18 0

20 40 60 80

Not helpful Somewhat helpful Very helpful

% of sample

Men Women

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We further disaggregate the perceptions based on the level of schooling completed by the respondents. From Figure 3, we can see that the perceptions slightly vary across the groups. The majority—ranging from 42% to 56%—in different groups thinks that madrasa education is “somewhat useful” to get a job in non-religious institutions.

Around a third considers it perfectly useful, leaving approximately one-fifth of the responses that deem the system impractical (see Figure 4).

Figure 3: Level of Education and Opinion About Getting a Job in a Non-Religious Institution

The perception of the usefulness of madrasa education in obtaining jobs is also unaffected by the type of madrasa. It can be seen from Figure 4 that the majority of students believe that madrasa education is “somewhat useful” in getting a job in non- religious institutions.

Figure 4: The Perception of Usefulness by the Type of Madrasa

18 19 17 16

26

51.04 49 56

46 42

31 31 27

38 32

0 20 40 60

Primary Secondary SSC/Dakhil Alim Fazil/Kamil

% of sample

Not useful Somewhat useful Perfectly useful

20

44

36 19

51

30

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Not useful Somewhat useful Perfectly useful

% of sample

Qawmi and others Alia

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3.2.1. Scope of Improvement

When asked how improvements can be made for madrasa education, 65% of the male respondents opined that English concentration in the syllabus needs to be enhanced.

This is followed by emphasis on mathematics (44%) and computer literacy (44%) (see Figure 5). We also observe the gender segregation for the responses received in Figure 5. Women seem to exhibit a stronger preference in English and mathematics than their male counterparts at 86% to 65% and 62% to 44%, respectively. Figure 5 details the scope of improvement to make madrasa education more practical, in the sense that it will enable them to participate in current job markets with relevant skills more effectively.

Figure 5: Scope of Improvement to Make Madrasa Education Practical

As Figure 6 shows, the need for improvement is the same regardless of the type of madrasa attended. English concentration is preferred by students in all kinds of madrasas (more than 65%) over the other two subjects.

Figure 6: Scope of Improvement Based on the Type of Institutions 44

65

44 62

86

36

0 20 40 60 80 100

Math concentration English concentration Computer literacy concentration

% of cases

Men Women

48

68 41 44

70

38

0 20 40 60 80

% of cases

Alia Qawmi and others

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When the scope of improvement is divided based on the respondents’ level of education, it is shown in Figure 7 that improvement in English is considered a priority at each educational level, averaging around 66%. This is followed by mathematics ranging at 36–57% and computer literacy at 38–60%. However, the trend reverses in the Fazil/Kamil category, where the emphasis is placed on computer literacy, followed by English and then mathematics.

Figure 7: Scope of Improvement and Level of Education of the Respondents

3.3. Employment

Figure 8 describes the labour market involvement of former madrasa students based on their gender. About half of the men (48%) are in the labour force, while women are almost absent. The majority of women (47%) are working at home. One-third of the men respondents are unemployed, nearly double the unemployment rate for women.

Surprisingly, 29% of unemployed women are not looking for work, which is only 14%

for men.

57 47 48

42 36

69 67 72 71

52

38 41 45 42

60

0 20 40 60 80

Primary Secondary SSC/Dakhil Alim Fajil/Kamil

% of sample

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Figure 8: Labor Distribution Based on Gender

As Table 2 shows, employed individuals from madrasa backgrounds are mostly involved in blue-collar jobs. Among them, 17.07% are involved in farming, 16.03%

work as day labourers, 13.24% have businesses, and 11.5% are associated with religious activities for a living. It is to be noted that while 16.72% are involved in some sort of a teaching position (either as a private tutor or a madrasa teacher), only 6.97%

and 9.06% of individuals hold a salaried job or work as skilled labourers, respectively.

Table 2: Sector-Wise Employment Current occupation

Percentage of former madrasa students

Religious activities 11.50

Business 13.24

Day labour 16.03

Farming 17.07

Salaried job 6.97

Skilled labour 9.06

Teaching (private tutor, madrasa teacher) 16.72

3.4. Training or Apprenticeship

There is a stark contrast between madrasa students who received training and those who wish to receive training. Very small numbers (17%) have received training, of which 18% are men and 13% women, and the vast majority, whether they are employed or unemployed, wish to partake in any kind of training. Nevertheless, as shown in Figure 9, at each level, at least 94% of respondents want to receive training, indicating that they feel inadequately prepared for the job market.

48

33

14

9 14 6

29

47

0 10 20 30 40 50

Employed Unemplouyed Unemployed but

not looking for work Household chore

% of sample

Men Women

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Figure 9: Willingness to Take Part in Training

Table 3 describes the willingness to participate in the training based on the respondents’ employment status. Again, we see that most respondents are willing to receive training regardless of their employment status. Even those who are not looking for work also express their interest in receiving training. However, the greatest percentage (around 99%) of those who are eager to be trained are unemployed and looking for jobs.

Table 3: Willingness to Take Part in Training

N Willing to take training (%)

Employed 320 94.00

Unemployed and looking for work 231 98.70

Unemployed but not looking for work 128 97.66

Looking after household 96 94.79

When asked about the types of training they think they need, the majority of both men and women considered computer training/information technology (IT) support technicians at 64% and 52%, respectively (see Table 4). There is more distribution among men for other types of training, with 10% opting for training as an electrician and a very low interest in tailoring. In contrast, 42% of women want training in tailoring instead of 3.63% men, showing a striking difference in interest for the job. It is to be noted that females did not show any interest whatsoever in either mobile servicing or electrician.

18

97

13

94

0 20 40 60 80 100

Previously received training Willing to take any training

% of sample

Men Women

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Table 4: Types of Training Needed

Men (%) Women (%)

Mobile servicing 3.79 0.00

Tailoring 3.63 42.02

Electrician 10.74 0.00

Computer training/IT support

technician 64.77 52.10

Others 17.06 5.88

Figure 10 shows that among the reasons for their interest in training, most men and women responded that getting a job will be easier with training—a view shared by 75%

of men compared to 49% of women. Others wish to receive training to gather new knowledge or simply have some spare time for it.

Figure 10: Reason for Interest in Training

3.5. Future Income Expectation

Figure 11 describes the expected income before and after receiving the training. When asked about their perception of change in income after receiving training, both men and women reported significant changes. Men expect their income to be more than double (109% increase), while women expect a slightly lower growth (90%).

75

15

3 49

20 27

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Getting a job will be easy Gaining new knowledge Have spare time

% of the sample

Men Women

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Figure 11: Future Income Expectation With and Without Training

When comparing expectations after training based on education level, similar perceived increases are observed within genders. For both primary and secondary education levels, men expect an increase of approximately 100%. However, those who completed SSC/Dakhil and HSC/Alim levels of education expect their income to increase by around 125%. The anticipated growth is the lowest (only 38%) for women at the primary level, compared to above 100% increases for other education levels (see Table 5). Unfortunately, there is no data for women in the Fazil/Kamil category, as there are no graduates recorded for that particular education level.

Table 5: Level of Education and Income Expectation With and Without Training

Male Female

Level of education

Male income with training

Male income without training

increase in (%)

Female income with training

Female income without training

increase in (%)

Primary 16,612 8,289 100 11,444 8,278 38

Secondary 18,074 8,910 103 8,858 4,381 102

SSC/Dakhil 18,606 8,185 127 10,973 5,497 100

HSC/Alim 21,832 9,788 123 19,368 9,221 110

Fazil/Kamil 22,487 12,470 80

3.6. Future Employment Aspiration

As shown in Table 6, the most significant portion (46.54%) of former madrasa students 18,812

11,460 9,019

6,024

0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000

Men Women

Income in BDT

Income with training Income without training

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followed by wanting government jobs (18.46%) and private jobs (12.95%). Women (21.26%) prefer private jobs more than men (11.33%). When agricultural, electrical, and driving jobs are considered, very few of the men and virtually no women want them as their profession. Given the current context of society, these jobs usually consist of male employees exclusively.

Table 6: Future Job Aspirations

Future employment Men (%) Women (%) Total (%)

Government jobs 18.22 19.69 18.46

Private jobs 11.33 21.26 12.95

Business 47.78 40.16 46.54

Agriculture work 1.53 0.79 1.41

Improving current job 3.68 0.79 3.21

Electrical work 6.13 0.00 5.13

Driving 3.98 0.00 3.33

For future job aspirations, distribution based on individuals’ education levels varies for each type of job. However, business as a preferred means of employment remains dominant among the respondents of all educational levels, with the highest 57.73%

for primary and 49.74% for secondary grades. On average, about 15% of people with qualifications in secondary education and HSC/Alim want private jobs. These figures increase when government jobs are considered, as they come with many benefits. On the other hand, there is little enthusiasm for agricultural, electrical, or driving-related jobs. None of those who have passed Fazil/Kamil wants to do agricultural or electrical jobs. Lastly, those who wish to improve their current jobs are mostly in Alim (8.54%) and Fazil/Kamil (16.13%) categories.

Table 7: Future Job Aspirations Based on Level of Education Future employment Primary

(%)

Secondary (%)

SSC/Dakhil (%)

HSC/Alim (%)

Fazil/Kamil (%)

Government jobs 9.28 15.71 27.37 26.83 12.90

Private jobs 7.22 13.35 15.08 15.85 9.68

Business 57.73 49.74 39.66 32.93 41.94

Agriculture work 5.15 0.52 0.56 3.66 0.00

Improving current job 2.06 1.57 1.68 8.54 16.13

Electrical work 6.19 7.07 2.23 3.66 0.00

Driving 3.09 3.66 1.68 6.10 3.23

We discovered that the most aspired occupation category does not differ by the type of madrasa attended by comparing the occupational distribution among all types of madrasas. Both men and women prefer business (more than 40%) to other fields.

Agriculture and electrical work are the least preferred job sectors.

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Figure 12: The Most Aspired Category of Occupation by the Type of Madrasa

We wanted to find out if there are any gender differences in the desired type of business as it is the most aspired category of occupation. Figure 13 shows that computer-related training and services are mostly preferred by men, with only 6% of women preferring the same. On the other hand, women prefer mainly tailoring (79%), while a few men show their interest in it. There is not a significant gender gap for other small and medium-sized businesses.

Figure 13: Differences in the Desired Type of Businesses by Gender 45

19

14

1 2 5

41

12

6 4

11

4 0

10 20 30 40 50

Business Government

jobs Private jobs Agriculture

work Improving the

current Job Electrical work

% of sample

Alia Qawmi and others

54

26

6 5 4 1 3

6

15

79

0 0 0 0

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Computer-related training and

services

Other small and

medium business Tailor Mobile repair and

sell Electrical

appliance repair Vehicle repair Other (specify)

% of sample

Men Women

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3.7. Financial Inclusion and Access to Smartphones and the Internet

A similar percentage of men and women have a bank account—23.02% and 20.49%, respectively. The similarity is also evident when asked about mobile bank accounts;

above 60% of both genders have a mobile bank account. However, women are more likely to be non-governmental organization (NGO) beneficiaries (13.93%) than men (9.18%). The proportion of men with access to a smartphone (64.70%) is almost double that of women (36.89%). A discrepancy is also observed as more men (79%) have access to the internet than women (55.74%), which can be attributed to men having higher access to smartphones.

Table 8: Financial Inclusion and Access to Smartphones and the Internet

Men (%) Women

(%)

Bank account 23.02 20.49

Mobile bank account 67.81 62.30

NGO beneficiary 9.18 13.93

Smartphone 64.70 36.89

Internet 79.00 55.74

4. Discussion

Due to the lack of adequate skills, madrasa students are always lagging behind their non-madrasa peers with respect to employment and income. While the prevalence of madrasa students are relatively plural in Cox’s Bazar, the Rohingya influx makes the employment situation worse than ever. Therefore, BRAC SDP finds it essential to design a program to develop skills among former madrasa students and facilitate employment generation. Before designing the program, however, it is crucial to understand this group’s employment status, expectations, and aspirations. With that goal in mind, this study broadly explores the current economic and labour market outcomes of the former madrasa students in Cox’s Bazar. More specifically, it asses the employment and income status and identifies the skill gaps and types of training required to fill out these gaps.

Madrasa education has been categorized as Alia (regulated but privately owned) and Qawmi (non-regulated and privately owned). We adopted an RDS technique to collect the target sample for this study. A plurality of our sample comes from the Alia madrasa (89%). In addition, we oversampled the male respondents; men make up 83% of the sample of Alia madrasa, which is 86% in Qawmi and other madrasas.

We find that most students complete the secondary level of education. Very few students can complete the tertiary level of education, which is almost nil for women.

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On average, men meet 8.68 years of schooling, while it is 7.74 for women. BANBEIS (2017) reports 46% of students in Bangladesh dropped out from madrasa before completing their Dakhil exam, of whom 37% are boys and 56% are girls.

Given that very few madrasa students completed the tertiary level of education and the high dropout rate before completing at least the Dakhil exam, we tried to explore how helpful madrasa education is to get a job outside religious institutions. Most of the respondents reported that it is somewhat helpful and around 20% of the respondents thought that it is not helpful to get jobs in non-religious institutions. The perception regarding the usefulness of madrasa education did not vary immensely with respect to the level of schooling completed and the type of institutions enrolled in. Similarly, Asadullah et al. (2009) observe that madrasa education hardly improves students’

employability to compete in the regular job market.

The perceptions indicate a scope of improvement in existing madrasa education. In our study, respondents mostly opined that math, English, and computer literacy are the crucial subjects where the concentrations are needed. These results did not vary significantly with respect to gender and the type of institutions where the respondents were enrolled in. Similar findings were published in The Daily Star. It says that around 50% of the Alia madrasa students think their education system is almost ineffective to get good jobs, while 70% said their textbooks should be modernised further and 73%

said their teachers were not well-trained (“Three of Four Madrasa Students Remain Jobless,” 2018).

The previous findings are highly correlated with the labour market outcomes of these groups of people. We find that plurality of men are participating in the labour market, while women prefer to live at home and do household chores. The proportion of men unemployed and looking for work is 33%, while the figure is only 14% for women. Most of the respondents are involved in farming as their occupation. But in the future, the most significant number of men respondents intend to do computer-related businesses, such as running a computer shop or opening a computer training centre.

Similarly, women aspire to do tailoring in the future.

As BRAC SDP intends to provide some skill training to the former madrasa graduates, this study tried to explore the preferences of training among the respondents. It is found that almost all of the respondents are willing to take training irrespective of their previous history of receiving any training—the preference for computer-related training appears at the top for both men and women. But tailoring is the second-largest choice for females. Moreover, both men and women perceived that their income would be doubled by one year if they received any training.

5. Conclusion

This study assesses the economic and labour market participation of former madrasa students. We also explore their future expectations, skills they need, and scope of development. We conducted this survey only in the Cox’s Bazar district and covered all the eight sub-districts. RDS technique was used to generate a list of the target

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was a madrasa from Cox’s Bazar, (ii) their age ranges from 15 to 40 years, (iii) not currently enrolled in any educational institutions, and (iv) they live in Cox’s Bazar district. We surveyed respondents over the phone and collected an average of one referral from the respondents. We ran 15 waves of phone calls to construct the list of 1,900 individuals and found 1,038 samples that matched the eligible criteria.

Our analysis shows that the surveyed former madrasa students have a very low level of tertiary education, only 5.5% for males and 0% for females. These figures are also lower when compared to similar age groups of former non-madrasa students.

Furthermore, most former madrasa students dropped out from the secondary level of education, and very few appeared in Dakhil and Alim exams.

A majority of our sample is not entirely satisfied with the outcome of these education systems. They thought it would hardly help them get a job in non-religious institutions.

However, they believe that greater emphasis on English, mathematics, and computer literacy in classroom teaching would help to improve the madrasa education system.

Furthermore, most respondents seek training to enhance their practical skills, with computer and IT support technician training being on their topmost priority list.

Though the findings have significant policy implications for the current madrasa education system in Bangladesh, this study has a few limitations. Due to the pandemic, we could not do in-person surveys, few were unreachable by phone, and some refused to talk. In the future, adding more respondents to the sample can reduce the biases of the study and will ensure external validation.

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Asadullah, M. N., Chakrabarti, R., & Chaudhury, N. (2013). What determines religious school choice? Theory and evidence from rural Bangladesh. Bulletin of Economic Research, 67(2), 186–207.

Asadullah, M. N., & Chaudhury, N. (2010). Religious schools, social values, and economic attitudes: Evidence from Bangladesh. World Development, 38(2), 205–217.

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Employment and Expectations of Former Madrasa Students in Cox’s Bazar: A