In the second of his two-part series on education and extremism in Pakistan, Ikram Sehgal, a member of EWI's Board of Directors, suggests that partnerships between international donors and nongovernmental organizations may be the way to reform Pakistan's education system.

In the first installment of the series, written for the Pakistani daily The News, Sehgal described the connection between education and extremism in Pakistan and identified the country's broken education system and the evolution of radical religious education as major sources of militancy in the country. Such radical education took hold, he wrote, in part because Pakistan's vast population living in poverty has few other options.

In his second installment, Sehgal argues that an essential step to counter the rising tide of militancy is to provide alternatives to radical religious education, especially for Pakistan's poor.

Increased government intervention in education is not the answer, according to Sehgal. "For the government to build and run more schools may be counter-productive," he writes. "Government-run schools do not provide the quality of the private sector."

Instead, Sehgal argues for a partnership with NGOs with a record of success. "Selected madrassahs, those that are keen on reforms, can be affiliated to NGOs which have a proven track record in education, where, apart from religious education, subjects like mathematics, general science, computers and hygiene can be taught by teachers having good credentials, experience and expertise," he writes. "Armed with good knowledge about both the divine and the mundane, not weapons and venom, madrassah students will have a clear option for admission and placement in higher education institutions or vocational training programs. Steps should be taken to reform madrassah curriculum to highlight pluralistic traditions in Islam in dealing with differences of opinion between faith and traditions."

Among NGOs worthy of partnership, Sehgal identifies the Citizens Foundation (TCF), CARE, Zindagi Trust, DIL, Punjab Education Foundation and Sindh Education Foundation. He draws particular attention to TCF as an organization that has produced measurable results.

A focus on education would be a lot more effective and efficient than the international community's current efforts to counter extremism in Pakistan, Sehgal suggests. "Educating all the two million presently in the madrassah system on the TCF model would amount to approximately $250 million a year," he writes. "Compare that to what the U.S. allocates annually for running the war in Afghanistan and for 'Coalition Support Funds' for Pakistan?"

Skeptical of the effectiveness of the government as an interlocutor, Sehgal suggests international donors should work directly with NGOs to provide meaningful education for millions of poor Pakistani children.

"The bottom line is: put the money into a trusted mechanism with a track record of delivering the goods," he concludes. "For the madressah system to be tackled positively, the challenge before donors is to look at models like TCF as an alternative."

Click here to read about Sehgal's first installment on the connection between education and extremism in Pakistan

Click here to read his second installment in The News