KARACHI, Nov 29: Federal government wants to retain the control of Sindh Madressahtul Islam and see it as a well-preserved heritage and a national-level education institution of par excellence.

This was hinted by a joint secretary of the federal education ministry, Brig (retd) Atiqur Rehman, on Wednesday, when he paid a brief visit to the institution, which was pulled out from the jurisdiction of the Sindh government in 1974.

Talking to the principal and senior faculty members of SMI, Brig Rehman said the madressah was a historic institution, which got a real stability only after it was taken over and looked after by the federal government, a press release said.

There are reports that provincial education minister had recently sent a letter to federal government requesting that its control be given back to the provincial government.

The institution has seen Founder of Pakistan Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and other leaders of national level like Sir Abdullah Haroon, Sir Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah, Muhammad Ayub Khuhro, Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto and others as its alumni during the early years after its inception.

The joint secretary said he personally felt that the SMI being the alma mater of Quaid-i-Azam and other heroes of independence movement should surely be kept with the federal government and not be handed over to Sindh education department. He said the federal government had taken the control of the SMI from Sindh government to preserve, develop and promote it as a national heritage and a national-level institution. Due to assistance and attention paid by the federal education ministry, the SMI emerged as one of the best institution of the country, he added.

Brig Rehman said the dispute of the Sindh Madressah and the S.M. Science College over three boarding houses of Sindh Madressah i.e. Hassanally House, Sardar House and Khairpur House, in which the SM Science College is housed since 1950s, should be resolved amicably by both the provincial and federal governments.

SMI Principal Lieutenant Colonel (retd) Taj Muhammad Memon said Sindh Madressah’s role and character should not be reduced to the level of a local institute.

Brigadier (retd) Atiqur Rehman during his visit to the SMI went round the Fine Arts Gallery, the Jinnah Museum, college library and other facilities of the institution.