This work is a history of Islamic
education in Ilorin from the colonial period to the first decade of the
twenty-first century. It is a history of the adaptations of the ulama to
the challenge of the modern period through three pedagogical schools
Ilorin, namely: tolerant Adabiyyah School, the Zumratul Mu’meenina
(makondoro) School that was strictly against western education in the
early days and the third school, Markaziyya, privileging Arabic/Islamic
education.
This thesis argues that society’s attitude towards the system, absence
of reliable state support and the weak financial wherewithal when
compared with the western system are all connected as hindrance to
progress in the system. Despite this limited capacity, the scholars have
been unrelenting, continuously adapting the system to the needs of the
society, such as transformation of the traditional Qur’anic schools into
madaris (sing. madrasah) to running of the two educational systems
within their madaris, especially from the late twentieth century. More
than is credited to them the scholars have actually contributed to the
development of western education even as the attention given to the
western system of education by the government and the society has not
been very encouraging to its own development.Colonial and Global Histor
