ISLAMABAD:
The total number of registered religious madrassas across the country is 17,738, with 2,249,520 students enrolled, stated the Ministry of Education as it submitted details of religious seminaries to the Senate.
Meanwhile, the Tax Laws Amendment Bill, presented earlier in the National Assembly, was also introduced on 19th December and referred to the Senate Finance Committee for further deliberation.
The Senate session, chaired by Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani, convened on Thursday morning during which details about nationwide madrassa registrations were presented. In response to a question from a Senate member, the Ministry of Education disclosed that there are 17,738 registered madrassas with 2,249,520 students enrolled.
The detailed statistics revealed that Punjab has 664,065 students, Sindh 188,182, Balochistan 71,815, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 1,283,024, Azad Kashmir 26,787, Islamabad 11,301, and Gilgit-Baltistan 4,346 students.
The written response also clarified that no direct financing is provided to madrassas. However, the Directorate General of Religious Education (DGRE) has supplied 1,196 teachers to 598 madrassas.
During the session, the government introduced the Tax Laws Amendment Bill 2024, which was referred to the Finance Committee for further review. Separately, journalists staged a walkout from the press gallery in protest against the handling of cases under the PECA Act, prompting Senate members to assure that the matter would be addressed.
News published in the Express Tribune on 20th December 2024
