ISLAMABAD, Nov 2: Education Minister Lt Gen (retired) Javed Ashraf Qazi on Tuesday said only a few Madressahs located near the boarder areas of the country were involved in terrorist activities.

He was talking to mediapersons at Kanwal Community School, Nirola, here. The minister accompanied the outgoing US ambassador Nancy Powell where they painted the classrooms of the school. Director National Education Foundation Dr Afzal Haque was also present on the occasion.

The government is keeping a close watch on seminaries which are suspected of involvement in terrorist activities and the government would soon curb them, Mr Qazi said.

"Streamlining of madaris is going on at a good pace and the ministry in collaboration with Wafaqul Madaris is taking every possible measure for timely Madressah reforms," he said.

In response to a question, the minister claimed that change in government in the US would not affect the ongoing cooperation in the education sector between the two countries. However, the minister emphasized that Pakistan was a sovereign country and had every right to devise its policies without taking any dictation from any corner.

Talking about the goals and objectives the education ministry had committed to the Prime Minister's Secretariat last month, he said the ministry had been restructured and a monitoring and evaluation cell set up to streamline its various departments for swift delivery of services.

The ministry would always facilitate the communities interested in establishing a school in their localities, he added. He maintained that the government could not absolve itself of its primary and constitutional obligation of providing basic education to the general masses.

Mr Qazi vowed to enhance the capacity of the officials and the sections of the ministry of education for promotion of education and eradication of illiteracy in the country.

Speaking on the occasion, Ms Powell said the US administration had accorded top priority to the education sector in Pakistan and would continue its unconditional support and assistance to the uplift of the basic education in the country.

Ms Powell said much had been done by the Pakistani government to improve the standard of basic education in the country, especially in the far-flung areas, which were neglected in the past.

She lauded the government efforts and strategy to eliminate illiteracy and promote quality education in the country. Ms Powell maintained that she would urge the US administration for more technical and financial support to Pakistan's education sector.

The teacher-turned-diplomat also appreciated the efforts of the ministry of education in making education accessible to all. She said the country had been doing very well, as the education ministers after 1999 were successful in securing the political will at the highest level, which was lacking during the successive political government of the past.

She praised the efforts of the former education minister Zobaida Jalal for her selfless efforts for the promotion of education in the country.