KARACHI, Sept 29: The Sindh governor has promulgated the Societies Registration (Second Sindh Amendment) Ordinance-2006, under which registration and submission of annual educational activities report and audit report by all religious schools is a must.

According to a notification issued here on Friday, the new ordinance further amends the Societies Registration Act-1860 in its application to the province of Sindh. The new ordinance has come into force at once and shall be deemed to have taken effect on and from July 26.

In the Societies Registration Act-1860, after Section 20, the new section of ‘Registration of Deeni Madaris’ has been added.

According to the new section:

(1) All Deeni Madaris by whatsoever name called shall not operate without getting themselves registered as under:

i) The Deeni Madaris existing before the commencement of the Societies Registration (Sindh Amendment) Ordinance-2005, shall get themselves registered under this Act up to Dec 31, 2005.

ii) The Deeni Madaris established after the commencement of the Societies Registration (Second Sindh Amendment) Ordinances-2005, shall get themselves registered within one year of their establishment. Explanation: One Deeni Madressah having more than one campus shall need only one registration.

(2) Every Deeni Madressah shall submit annual report of its educational activities to the registrar.

(3) Every Deeni Madressah shall cause to be carried out audit of its accounts by an auditor and submit a copy of its audit report to the registrar.

(4) No Deeni Madressah shall teach and publish any literature which promotes militancy or spreads sectarianism or religious hatred, provided that nothing continued herein shall bar the comparative study of various religions or schools of thought or the study of any other subject covered by the Holy Quran, Sunnah or the Islamic jurisprudence.

It has been explained that under this section a ‘Deeni Madressah’ means a religious institution primarily for religious education and includes a Jamia, Darul Uloom, school, college or university or called by any other name, set up for the purposes of primarily imparting religious education and providing boarding and lodging facilities.—PPI