PESHAWAR: The elementary and secondary education department has directed all boards of intermediate and secondary education in the province to register seminaries in their respective areas as a first step towards their mainstreaming.

The directives have been given in light of a decision made during a meeting of senior officials of the interior ministry and four provincial governments on the ways and means to bring seminaries into the mainstream, sources told Dawn.

“The education department has directed us to accomplish the task of the seminaries’ registration within a month,” said the chairman of an education board.

Dept issues directive in this respect as part of religious schools streamlining plan

He said the education department had already provided the education boards with the registration proforma, which consisted of 11 pages.

According to the proforma, every seminary will be bound to submit an undertaking to the education department that it will not impart education on militancy, terrorism, anti-state activities or sectarianism and that it will get its accounts annually audited by a government-recognised chartered accountant and submit its report to the relevant department.

The seminary will declare that it neither has connection with any banned organisation nor will it keep such connection in future.

The proforma says the seminary will provide details of its teachers, both locals and foreigners, non-teaching employees, and students, including locals and foreigners.

It also requires seminaries to share the details of its designated bank accounts.

Currently, the industries and social welfare departments register seminaries in the province under different laws.

However, many seminaries functioning without registration are either established within mosques or have own buildings.

The education department has directed all board chairmen to complete the process of seminaries’ registration within a month, the chairman of a board said.

He said the board chairmen were also told to share developments regarding such registrations on weekly basis.

Sources said currently, 3,028 seminaries functioned in the province.

They said as the first step towards their mainstreaming, seminaries would be registered with the education boards to collect the precise information about their teachers, students and accounts.

The sources said after registration, the government would know about the exact number of the students enrolled in seminaries and material taught there.

They said with knowing their financial conditions and missing facilities, the government might also provide funds to religious schools in the ‘best interest’ of the students.

The sources said there was also a possibility of the government releasing funds for seminaries to address missing facilities like drinking water, washrooms and electricity on the pattern it gave away money to own schools.

They said an advertisement would be published on part of each education board in the local newspapers regarding seminary registration.

The sources said the advertisement material would convince seminaries on their registration with education boards informing them about its benefits.

They said the seven education boards functioning at the level of each administrative division would be responsible for the registration of seminaries in their respective areas.

The board chairman said the administrative heads of major seminaries would be called for a meeting to convince them about registration.

Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2017