KARACHI, Feb 11: The Sindh Education department has planned to facilitate madressahs desiring arrangements for imparting the modern day education to their students in addition to religious studies.
Sources in the department said that with financial assistance from the federal government, the provincial education authorities had initiated the process of providing teachers for formal subjects, textbooks, sports material, stationary, furniture, computers and others facilities to such madressahs throughout the province.
The federal government, in line with a five-year project, with an overall estimate of Rs6,500 million meant for about 8,000 religious institutions, had released funds to Sindh as well for teaching of formal subjects alongwith religious curriculum.
According to an estimate, about 2,000 institutions of religious education in Sindh are registered with different federal agencies. Of them, 500 would be extended support, if they desired so, during the first year of the project and as many during the next year. The number would come down to 200-300 in the third year, said an official of the department.
The provincial education department, under the Decentralized Elementary Education Project (DEEP), is already working to facilitate one madressah in each district of the province in order to make them model madressah schools.
Unlike this latest federal government's scheme, the Asian Bank-funded DEEP envisages provision of financial support and other facilities enabling their students to get a class-VIII certificate.
"A response from madressahs cannot be predicted as it all depends on how far they can go to provide modern day education in essential subjects, including the Information Technology, to their students," said another source.
Some of the madressahs are already providing technical and science education to their students, while a few of those are also sending up their students for educational boards' examinations, the source added.
Under the federal government scheme, known as Madressah Reforms Project, the willing madressahs would be required to teach Mathematics, General Science, Social Studies/Pakistan Studies and English from primary to Matric level, while subjects like Pakistan Studies, Economics, Computer Sciences and English may be taught at intermediate level.
After receiving applications from madressahs, the government would also be appointing new teachers according to their requirements for formal subjects in due course of time. The process of inviting applications would start very shortly, said an official of the department.
It is further learnt that those students who would complete their studies in formal subjects would be eligible to appear in Matric and Intermediate examinations on the basis of Sanvia Amma and Sanvia Khasa in their respective boards, which in return would issue equivalency certificates to the successful candidates.
In the meantime, in line with a decision of the federal government, the Sindh government has also finalized formation of Provincial Steering Committee to look into the affairs of religious institutions, their registration and also recommend grant of assistance to them.
The committee would included one representative each from the provincial Home, Planning and Development and Education departments as well as one representative from madressahs. The Secretary Education would be the committee's chairman, said the source.