KARACHI, Aug 10: The Sindh Education Minister, Dr Hamida Khuhro, on Thursday stressed the need for bringing Madressahs into the mainstream and asked all the officials concerned to make all-out efforts to register Madressahs and provide all opportunities of modern education to the children along with religious teachings.

She was presiding over a presentation regarding the progress report of the project at her office. The director of Deeni Madaris Project, Muneer Ahmed Shaikh, gave the presentation.

Mr Shaikh told the minister that the 60-month project costing Rs5, 759.39 million with Sindh’s share of Rs1,106.14 million was sanctioned in 2004 at the federal level but could not be started due to some reasons and now this was likely to be extended up to 2009. He further briefed that grants would be given to Madressahs for textbooks and stationary while sports equipment, computers and audio-visual aids would be provided separately at primary, secondary and higher secondary level, he added.

Mr Shaikh said that per unit cost of each registered Madressahs had been fixed at Rs0.502 million for primary level, Rs0.781 million for secondary and Rs1.28 million for higher secondary level Madressahs. He disclosed that the Madressahs would get salaries for four teachers separately for primary, secondary and higher secondary at the ratio of Rs3,000; Rs4,000 and Rs5,000 per head for each level, respectively, and the total number of teachers would be 6,144.

He said that the examination from the students of these religious schools would be conducted through educational boards while education department under set criteria would carry out the recruitment of teachers.-PPI