Non-Muslim students to be taught own religious values in schools: Shafqat

ISLAMABAD – Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood on Tuesday said that non-Muslim minority students would be taught their own religious values instead of Islamic studies in schools.

During a meeting with British High Commissioner Dr Christian Turner, Shafqat Mahmood said that a separate subject would be taught to Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Bahaimat and Kelash community which had been prepared in consultation and support of the scholars of these religions.

The Minister while discussing the single education curriculum said that up to fifth grade English, Mathematics and Science in English while Urdu and Islamic Studies would be taught in Urdu. After the eighth class, students could choose the international qualifying or national qualifying at their will.

Shafqat Mahmood said that private publishers had been allowed to publish books and provinces and private educational institutions could teach any book, but the Federal Ministry of Education had ensured two things in this context: first, that the books of private publishers should be compatible with the “uniform education curriculum” and secondly, any class that could harm feelings thought or in some way hate content was not included in the book.

He said it was everyone’s right to give feedback on the single education curriculum so it was first placed on the website of the Ministry of Education. He said many observers criticised the same curriculum without reading it, and also by studying its comprehensiveness and utility. HeThe federal minister said that since it was less difficult to achieve a full consensus in a democracy, there would be some people who would continue to make a point of making this high-purpose initiative for their own personal reasons or interest. 

The Education Minister, while discussing the education curriculum for eighth class, said that provinces and private educational institutions had been allowed to teach additional content, elite private schools were free to give music and dance classes, so schools could also teach additional content of their teaching system.  

Discussing registration of madaris, Shafqat Mahmood said that registration of madaris was in progress across the country and sixteen offices had been set up for this purpose under the Directorate General of Religious Education, a subsidiary of the Federal Ministry of Education and 2,000 madaris had been registered till date. Some schools were to create new educational boards and five new boards had been created.