COTABATO CITY — Education Minister Mohagher Iqbal of the BARMM has filed a bill creating a Bangsamoro Regional Academy, which will offer baccalaureate and postgraduate courses in Islamic and Arabic studies.

If passed into law, the Muslim Mindanao Act 164, also known as the Regional Madrasah Graduate Education Act of 2003, would be repealed.

In his sponsorship speech, MP Iqbal asked his colleagues to help him in “addressing the gaps, lapses, and challenges facing one institution in the education sector in the BARMM, particularly the Madaris sector of Education.”

“Madaris education is what really makes the BARMM peculiar from the rest of the educational system in the country,” he said.

The Bangsamoro Organic Law specifies that the Parliament must enact legislation to develop and strengthen the Madarais educational system in the region.

The Regional Madrasah Graduate Academy is a Higher Education Institution with Local Colleges and Universities (LUCs) located in Buluan, Maguindanao.

The Academy will also promote research, advanced studies, and progressive leadership in areas of specialization.

It will be under the supervision and regulatory powers of the Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education.

The MBHTE must submit a transition plan to the BTA within 90 days following the law’s ratification, including the proposed organizational plan for the reformed Regional Madrasah Graduate Academy.

JULMUNIR I. JANNARAL