MADRASAH EDUCATION MANAGEMENT IN SRI LANKA: CHALLENGES AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS

Abstract The madrasah education has been under study for years in South Asia. The contemporary Indian model of madrasah education has been in Sri Lanka since the late 19th century. Previous studies unequivocally called for the reformation of madrasah education. However, none of the previous studies integrated the challenges of madrasah education to set the future direction and management. Hence, this study aims to explore the challenges of madrasah education and its future directions. The integrative literature review, conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) framework, was supplemented with a nominal group technique to explore the challenges and future directions. The theoretical framework of this study is constructed on institutional theory and Durkheimian network theory, with a focus on the joint madrasah system model in Singapore. Eight subject matter experts were involved in the nominal group technique. This research explored thirty challenges that madrasah education faces under ten domains. This study concludes that addressing these ten domains in pedagogical, organisational, and managerial foundations is essential for the future direction of madrasah education management in Sri Lanka.