Seminaries should be registered with education departments, says Ashrafi

Islamabad
Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) Chairman Maulana Tahir Ashrafi has said that ‘madaris’ should be registered with provincial education departments as the government and ‘madaris’ leadership are dragging their feet on ‘madrassa’ reforms.
He was addressing a seminar on ‘Just and sustainable peace in Pakistan’, organised by Peace Education and Development (PEAD) Foundation here on Tuesday.
The PUC chief said that the committee formed for ‘madaris’ reforms in the wake of Peshawar APS attack had become a victim of mistrust between ‘madaris’ boards and the government. He proposed that the government should form a board with representatives of all sects and educationists and designate it as exam-taking and degree-awarding body for all ‘madaris’ in Pakistan.
With regards to interfaith harmony, Tahir Ashrafi said that ‘madaris’ were wrongfully blamed for extremism as a whole but only few ‘madaris’ funded by foreign countries are cause of problem.
Human Rights activist Tahira Abdullah demanded the parliament to make new legislation on respect and love for all faiths and sects in the country. She urged the provincial governments to expedite the process of expunging hate material from the textbooks as ordered by the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Khalid Masud, former chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology, identified trust deficit between ‘madaris’ and government as the main hurdle in reforms.
He said that the ‘madrassas’ must reform their curriculum in order to meet the new standards of education and produce students who can contribute to progress of the country. He said that ‘madaris’ graduates have more job opportunities than a normal university graduate.
Renowned scholar Dr AH Nayyar said that the improvement in literacy rate did not show any improvements on the ground. He identified the lack of clarity of the state and decision-makers in having a consensus on what the education system should aim to achieve. He also said that the national curriculum in itself discriminates against minorities as students of other faiths are forced to study Islamiyat in public schools.
Jennifer Jag Jivan of the Christian Study Centre highlighted the systemic, social and constitutional discriminations against minorities and called for affirmative action on behalf of the state. She lamented that along with a history of mob violence against Christians, there was an equally disappointing and discouraging history of state inaction.
Former secretary education Professor Mehrdad urged the government to focus on building the capabilities of teachers while inculcating unity in diversity.