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government non-religious school attendance relative to madrasahs and private non-religious
schools. However, these gaps are not large. While in some countries there is a rising trend in the
provision of private school, access is still limited for children from poor families. The
multivariate analysis of the determinants of student achievement among middle-income OIC
countries shows a positive “private school effect”. However, a systematic effect is not present in
all OIC countries.
A blueprint for madrasah education that caters to cultural and religious preferences without
compromising on numeracy and literacy skills necessary for a modern economy needs to be
developed. Many Muslim parents value religious education and opt for madrasah education for
their children. Millions of children in the populous and economically poor OIC countries rely on
Islamic schools or madrasahs. This non-state education provider can be an important partner in
advancing education in Muslim communities. Yet a majority of these schools are left out of the
reform programs. While many operate with state mandate, the level and nature of student
learning is not regularly monitored. There is an OIC-wide evidence gap on madrasah education.
Efforts to develop ‘model madrasahs’ offering quality religious and secular education as well as
regulate existing seminaries have met with limited success.
Relying on greater fiscal allocations and poverty reduction is necessary for educational
development – it helps to enroll and retain children in school. However, it is not sufficient to ensure
access to quality education. Structural barriers to learning in school need to be identified. In all
four case studies, strong evidence was found on the positive role played by pre-school
attendance. One traditional source of learning disadvantage, gender, was absent in Jordan and
Malaysia. This implies that some of the common factors may not be directly caused by poverty.
Thus, poverty-specific policies need to be accompanied with teaching and learning-sensitive
policies.
Starting early by investing in childhood (pre-primary) education and care is a key area for
intervention. The relationship between attending pre-primary education and student
performance in PISA 2012 is positive and significant in OIC countries. This shows that 15-year-
olds who attended a pre-primary education programme tended to perform better than students
who did not attend pre-primary education even after accounting for students’ socio-economic
background.
However, equalizing access to quality early childhood education is a major challenge. Despite the
sizable benefits associated with pre-primary education, however, children from a lower socio-
economic background in OIC countries were less likely to have participated in pre-primary
education.
Most OIC countries face the double burden of rising inequality of educational opportunity and
declining educational standards despite making forward strides in terms of reducing in inequality
in educational participation and completion. The problem is likely to be much more severe in
countries where changes in learning outcomes are not documented using international
benchmarks.
In most member countries, the national examination systems lack credibility and does not generate
the appropriate incentives for students to acquire core competencies. In many countries, pass rate
in terminal examinations are very poor indicators of numeracy and literacy skills. While
participation in international assessments should be encouraged as a means to inform and aid
government education reforms, equally important is to maintain the quality and credibility of