July 12, 2007	Thursday	Jamadi-us-Sani 26, 1428

ISLAMABAD, July 11: The government is expected to start a fresh survey of madressahs in the capital city, as there are conflicting reports about their exact number within the administrative boundary of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).

According to a research report compiled by a US-based Pakistani researcher, there are around 120 seminaries in the ICT territory with the enrolment of around 15,000 students.

But according to the government statistics religious schools functioning in Islamabad are little less than 100 that have 10,000 students on their roll.

Dr Saleem H. Ali of the University of Vermont and Brown says that a distinguishing feature of madressahs in Islamabad is that almost all of them are residential institutions providing complete boarding and lodging to students.

His findings show that an overwhelming number of the students residing in these madressahs come from NWFP, FATA and the Northern Areas of the country.

Another unique feature is that 90 per cent of them have been built on state land in green belts along main avenues or reserved and protected areas.

During the previous years, madressahs in Islamabad have witnessed extensive expansions in their infrastructure and increase in their enrolment.

Dr Ali said madressah managers believed that post 9/11 phenomenon and increasing divide between the western and Islamic worlds had factored in the mushrooming of seminaries all around the country.

According to the National Education Census (NEC) conducted by the education ministry last year, only 77 of the madressahs in the ICT participated in the data collection whereas 15 refused to cooperate in the project.

Together the madressahs in Islamabad have over 10,000 students on their rolls and 700 teachers to teach them.

The NEC showed that 47 per cent of the total religious schools in the ICT limits were affiliated with Wafaqul Madaris, which control seminaries running under Deobandi school of thought.

Two madressahs - Jamia Hafsa and Jamia Fareedia - run by the Lal Masjid administration were also registered with the Wafaqul Madaris, but due to the crisis the board had revoked their membership.

Tanzeemul Madaris, which represents Barelvi sect, has 20 madressahs (26 per cent of the total) registered with it and 10 per cent “madressahs” are affiliated with the Rabta, a madressah board managed by Jamaat-i-Islami. Whereas, 16 per cent of the total madressahs are run independently.

A five-year madressah reforms project launched by the government in 2002-03, which has completed its implementation time period on June 30, had failed to achieve its objective.

The government wants to introduce formal subjects in the seminaries to enable their students to compete in the job market. The government is preparing a new PC-I for this purpose.

At present, the students are only trained to lead prayers and teach religion.