The Supreme Court (SC) has issued notices on a petition seeking mandatory inclusion of religious education in schools across the country.
The case was heard by a seven-member constitutional bench, headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, who ordered that notices be sent to relevant parties for further review, Express News reported.
The petition, filed by lawyer Aneek Khatana, calls for religious education to be made compulsory in schools as per the provisions of the Constitution of Pakistan.
Khatana argued that the inclusion of religious studies in the curriculum is essential, in line with the country’s constitutional framework that mandates religious education for all students.
During the proceedings, Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi referred to past efforts in Sindh, noting that religious education, including Quranic studies, was incorporated into the region’s schools as early as the 1970s.
Similarly, Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan mentioned that a similar law for Quranic education had been implemented in Balochistan.
Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar added that any potential misinterpretation or mistranslation of religious material could be addressed by blocking such content, emphasizing the importance of accuracy in teaching.
The court, after hearing the arguments, decided to adjourn the case indefinitely for further deliberation, directing the concerned authorities to take appropriate action in this regard.
A few years ago, for the first time in the country’s history, the National Curriculum Council (NCC) permitted the publication of religious textbooks for students of seven minority religious groups enrolled in educational institutions supervised by the federal government.
The issuance of no objection certificates (NOC) by the NCC will enable the National Book Foundation (NBF) to publish textbooks on Hinduism, Sikhism, Christianity, Bahai, Zoroastrianism, Kalasha and Buddhism.
According to the seven different NOCs, students from minority communities from first to third grade will be taught religious textbooks in schools in the federal capital or in educational institutions working under the ambit of the federal government.
NCC chief Maryam Chaghatai said The express PAkGazette that the decision is only applicable to schools that are under the administrative control of the federal Ministry of Education, adding that education is a provincial subject under the 18th Constitutional Amendment.
However, the NCC chief said they were also sharing the draft religious textbooks with the provincial governments.
“If any province wants, they can publish these books through their respective boards. We have also received a request in this regard. “Punjab is interested in teaching religious textbooks to students from minority communities in their schools,” he added.
Also, according to the NOCs, initially these books will be published in Urdu language. Textbooks for Bahais will be published from first to fifth grade, while for Hinduism, Kalash, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism and Sikhism, from first to third grade.
For the Christian community, textbooks will be published for students in grades 1 to 4.
According to the notification, the textbooks will be published as per the National Curriculum for Religious Education and will be free from any kind of cultural, linguistic or ethnic bias, while these textbooks will not include any material against any religion or the state from Pakistan.
