10th U6+ Consortium of African Universities International Conference

Arabic and Islamic education remains central to intellectual formation and moral cultivation in Muslim societies. However, contemporary Arabic and Islamic schools, whether informal, formal, or institutional, face structural, curricular, administrative, and sectarian challenges that undermine their holistic mandate. This article develops a comprehensive analytical framework for understanding these educational tiers and evaluates their admission systems, trainer qualifications, welfare structures, curricular models, and regulatory environments. This work makes use of both historical and exegetical methods in gathering relevant information. The former method avails the opportunity to trace related historical facts while the latter helps in analyzing facts with Quranic provisions, prophetic traditions and scholars’ submissions. Drawing upon classical Islamic educational philosophy and modern educational theory, the study integrates insights from scholars such as Al-Ghazali, Ibn Khaldun, Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, and Fazlur Rahman. The paper argues that moral excellence and academic relevance must be re-integrated through dynamic curricula, professionalized teacher development, entrepreneurial inclusion, anti-sectarian frameworks, and balanced regulatory oversight. The study, thus, concludes that the future sustainability of Islamic education depends on its ability to harmonize tradition with globalization while preserving epistemological authenticity.