Directorate to regulate seminaries set up.

ISLAMABAD -- As a first major step towards mainstreaming the religious seminaries, the government has established a directorate for registration and facilitation of the madaris functioning all over the country, sources told Dawn.

The notification regarding setting up of the Directorate General of Religious Education (DGRE) has been issued by Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training which has also been working on preparing a uniform curricula for all the schools and religious seminaries of the country.

According to the notification, the new directorate with its head office in Islamabad's G-8 Sector will have 16 regional offices all over the country and the ministry has already posted officers as directors in these offices.

DGRE with head office in Islamabad will have 16 regional offices all over the country

The services of dozens of employees from Basic Education Community Schools (BECS) and National Commission of Human Development (NCHD) have been hired to run the directorate and its regional offices.

'The posting and transfers of the officers from the BECS and the NCHD are being made on attachment basis to operationalise the DGRE Head Office in Islamabad and its 16 regional offices all over the country', says the notification.

The federal government is yet to appoint the head of the newly-established directorate. Sources in the ministry said that joint education adviser of the National Curriculum Council Rafiq Tahir was likely to be asked to look after the affairs of the DGRE as well.

The ministry has already notified posting of over 50 officers of the NCHD and the BECS at the DGRE. The regional offices will be headed by directors.

The regional offices of the DGRE are being set up in Rawalpindi, Lahore, Multan, Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Peshawar, Dera Ismail Khan, Swat, Quetta, Khuzdar, Loralai, Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Gilgit and Skardu.

Talking to Dawn a few days back, Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood had stated that the setting up of the DGRE would be a 'landmark achievement' of the present government.

Mr Mahmood had stated the directorate would help seminaries get registered and it would also work as a facilitation centre for them. He said seminary students would also be imparted contemporary education and would appear in exams held under the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education. He had claimed religious scholars associated with Ittehad Tanzeemat-i-Madaris, an...