Government must trust madrassah boards: Tahir Ashrafi

ISLAMABAD: The Chairman of the Pakistan Ulema Council, Tahir Ashrafi, called for the preservation of the independence of the madrassahs in Pakistan.

The politician urged the federal government to ‘trust’ the existing boards that oversee the religious schools and to instead, focus on reform rather than imposing new regulations.

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Ashrafi mentioned that an agreement has been reached among key religious leaders, including Mufti Taqi Usman and Mufti Muneeb, to affiliate madrassahs with the Ministry of Education. He insisted this agreement should not be changed.

Ashrafi stated he was ‘concerned’ that moving madrassahs under the Societies Registration Act could harm the education of millions of students. He did not mention how.

The politician noted that over 18,600 madrassahs were currently linked to the education ministry.

He said that any changes needed to involve consultation with the existing boards.

Tahir Ashrafi also called on the government to engage with at least ten of the fifteen school boards to ‘protect’ student interests.

The issue is set to be discussed in a joint session of the parliament on Tuesday (today), where the Societies Registration (Amendment) Bill 2024 will be reviewed.

The bill has faced stiff resistance from religious quarters, and from President Asif Ali Zardari, who raised ‘constitutional’ concerns.

This led to backlash from the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam–Fazal (JUI-F) party, especially.

The religious party accused the president of yielding to ‘outside pressures’ that undermine democracy.

Meanwhile, Information Minister, Attaullah Tarar, defended Zardari’s objections, claiming they are based on legal grounds.

The JUI-F threatened to protest if their demands regarding the madrassah bill were not met.

Similarly, the Ittehad Tanzimat Madaris Deenia (ITMD), a coalition of madrassah oversight bodies, called for the immediate issuance of a gazette notification for the madrassah bill.

The coalition argued that Zardari’s objections were no longer valid due to the passage of time.

Read more: Madrassa bill faces setback as President Zardari flags global implications

The proposed legislation  aims to register madrassahs under the amended Societies Registration Act. It requires compliance within a set timeframe. Madrassahs would need to submit annual reports on their educational activities to ensure accountability.