Four madrasas closed in Kyrgyzstan

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KYRGYZSTAN – An audit that began in July of the madrasas operating in Kyrgyzstan has yielded its first results with the closing of four of the 14 madrasas in Osh province.

A state commission headed by Kambaraly Uzakov, the director of the southern department of the Kyrgyz government's Religious Affairs Agency, visited several regions of Osh province and met with local residents, leaders, heads of rural councils, school principals, and mosque clerics to discuss ways to prevent religious extremism. The commission also examined the activities of all madrasas there and the conditions under which minors study in them.

As a result, on December 2 the commission closed four madrasas in Osh province and suspended operations at three others because of a lack of proper study and living conditions, substandard educational programmes and unqualified teachers.

Uzakov said that once the new law on religious schools, recently submitted to parliament, is passed, the activities of the madrasas can be changed. “Quite often minors who study at madrasas do not attend school as a result. This violates the law on education. Right now, we are informing Muslim clerics and parents about that,” Uzakov said. To date the Commission has examined 1,941 mosques and 63 madrasas that are attended by more than 2,600 students, 595 of whom are not registered in schools.

[Akipress News Agency]