LAHORE: The Punjab government has prepared a far reaching framework for the registration and documentation of religious seminaries across the province.
The framework seeks extensive disclosure requirements covering administration, finances, infrastructure, educational activities, staff, students and foreign nationals, while engaging religious scholars and leaders from all schools of thought to evolve a consensus-based mechanism before its formal implementation.Seminaries seeking registration will be required to submit legal and administrative documents, including Articles and Memorandum of Association, CNICs of office-bearers, a Rs2,500 registration fee challan, and proof of legal ownership or occupation of premises.
Branch campuses will not require separate registration, but full details of all campuses must be provided. Institutions already registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, must also comply. They will be required to provide basic institutional details, including location, contact information, sectarian affiliation, date of establishment, and liaison details, along with governance structures such as boards of governors.
Annual audited accounts certified by government-approved chartered accountants must be maintained and submitted. Institutions must declare that they do not promote militancy, terrorism, anti-state activity or sectarian hatred, and confirm no links with proscribed organisations.
Detailed staff data, including teaching and non-teaching personnel and gender breakdowns, must be provided, along with information on foreign teachers and students, including classification by region of origin. Seminaries will also be required to disclose all funding sources, donations, rental income, and full banking details, and indicate whether they offer both religious and contemporary education.
Officials say consultations with religious leaders and madrassa representatives are continuing and that the final registration mechanism will be placed before stakeholders for consensus before its implementation.
Once notified, the framework is expected to bring thousands of seminaries operating across Punjab into a single regulatory and documentation system, creating what officials describe as the most comprehensive database of religious educational institutions ever compiled in the province.
