Rushana Panday developed an Ethico-Quality Framework to help faith-based higher education institutions (such as Muslim Institutions of higher learning) and educational institutions navigate the opportunities and challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Image: Supplied

Is it possible for universities to embrace Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital technologies without losing their values, and can this be done in the context of religious studies? This is just one of the aspects that Rushana Panday's Master's dissertation investigated. She questioned whether South Africa's national Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) higher education policies and frameworks are appropriate for accredited Muslim Institutions of Higher Learning (MIHLs).

Technology is not neutral, and one of the key findings of her research is that educational technology carries embedded assumptions about knowledge, power, efficiency and progress. She argued that technology adoption should not be assumed to be automatically beneficial. Instead, technologies should be evaluated according to their ethical, social and even spiritual consequences.

“This research was important to undertake because it addressed a gap in South African higher education quality discourse. As a quality assurance specialist at a MIHL, I wanted to critically examine the contextual appropriateness of national 4IR Post-School Education and Training (PSET) mandates for institutions grounded in Islamic values,” said Panday.

She added: “Motivated by the limited research on this topic, I felt it was an essential contribution to the quality assurance in higher education discourse. In the absence of an existing framework for the South African context, I sought to explore ways for MIHLs to navigate national 4IR PSET mandates without compromising their religious identity and educational mission.”

Panday’s work shows that while aspects of national digital education policy partially align with the needs of Muslim Higher Education, significant tensions arise around governance, accountability, technology and educational purpose. Using Islamic philosophical and ethical frameworks, Panday developed an original Ethico-Quality Framework (EQF) to help Muslim higher education institutions integrate modern educational technologies while remaining true to their religious and ethical principles.

She said: “I see this research serving as a roadmap for MIHLs to navigate 4IR innovation and adoption in a way that is both academically and theistically sound. In doing so, the EQF can help institutions anticipate and address techno-moral challenges that may arise in religious practice and education, while also identifying opportunities to enhance learning through thoughtful technology adoption. Crucially, the study refocuses on the fundamental purpose of MIHL education. It highlights the importance of ensuring that spiritual values are not overshadowed by the sovereignty of technique or by the terminological hegemony within quality assurance processes, which can sometimes become procedurally complex, leading to ceremonial compliance.”

The study argues that quality assurance should be viewed not merely as regulatory compliance, but as a form of ethical and spiritual stewardship.