Ministry seeks private schools’ help on Quranic education plan

Islamabad

The Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training has urged private schools to cooperate with it in executing the Quranic education plan.

“Both knowledge and character building are essential for the education of a child. And the best character building can be done through the Holy Quran only. We need your cooperation in implementing the decision to introduce ‘Nazra Quran’ in your schools with your consent and consultation,” State Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Mohammad Balighur Rehman told representatives of Islamabad’s 700 low-cost private schools during a meeting here on Thursday.

Dr. Afzal Babur of Private Schools Network led the visitors.

Under the ministry’s plan, ‘Nazra’ (recitation of the Holy Quran) will be taught at government schools from class 1 to class 5, while proper Quranic education with translation will be given to the students of class 6-10.

The minister said the Capital Administration and Development Division had already implemented the Quranic education plan in all ICT public schools, while the National Curriculum Council was reviewing it.

“The next step will be to place it before parliament for legislation for the countrywide execution,” he said.

The minister said many sects and renowned scholars and muftis like Mufti Muneeb Rehman and Mohsin Naqvi had already endorsed the plan, which had also been presented to the Council of Islamic Ideology for consideration and approval.

He suggested the dedicating of 15 to 20 minutes of Islamiyat class for Nazra and Quranic education.

“The ILM Foundation of Karachi has developed books along with the teachers’ guide for the purpose, which is very easy to comprehend. Many schools have already started teaching those books,” he said.

Also in the day, the minister met a delegation of National Education Development Partners Group (NEDPG).

The delegation included Umbreen Arif (Co Chair, World Bank), Vibeke Jensen (Co Chair, UNESCO), Ali (World Bank), and Zafar Hayat (UNESCO).

The basic agenda of the meeting was to create synergy among the donor partners and the Government. The issues that need to be focused on are policy issues, technical and vocational training with Public Private Partnership, Early Childhood Education, Non Formal Education and SDGs 4.

The minister told visitors that the ministry was fully aware of the importance of ECED and had allocated adequate resources for its promotion in Pakistan.

“A three days international conference has been planned in next November in Islamabad to bring the ECED on the forefront of national agenda,” he said.

Other issues like differences in data collection and test results were also discussed in the meeting.