Income Resources of Boarding Institutes Affiliated with Wifāq al-Madāris: Problems and Recommended Solutions

وفاق المدارس سے ملحق درس نظامی کے رہائشی مدارس کے ذرائع آمدن :درپیش مسائل اور مجوزہ حل

Abstract

Wifāq al-Madāris Al-ʻArbiah Pakistan is the largest board of Pakistani Madāris and hundreds of thousands of students’ studies in the madāris that are affiliated with this board. Majority of these madāris face financial problems. Applying the qualitative methodology, this study aimed to analyze the income resources of the boarding madāris affiliated with the Wifāq al-Madāris Al-ʻArbiah Pakistan, their major expenses, their financial challenges and possible solutions to the faced challenges. The findings show that major income resource of these madāris is public funding and donations. Other than public donations, few madāris have some other income resources like rentals of leased waqf properties, profits of investments and fee collected from the students. Major expenses for these madāris include meal and accommodation for students and payments of salaries to the teachers. In some cases, construction and maintenance are the major expenses. Rising inflation and changing government policies pose challenges for these madāris. The study recommends the madāris to exercise budget estimation at the starting of each year and to increase trust of the donors it is also recommended to share yearly budget and expenses with the donors along with the academic progress, which is a missing element in many cases. Possible arrangements to resolve financial issues of madaris may also include collecting tuition fees from students who can afford it, leasing out excess land, and utilizing Sharīʻah-compliant investment opportunities.