Model Deeni Madrassah, set up at Haji Camp here, is housing 425 girl students to impart religious education along with modern subjects. The government has spent Rs 3.34 million for providing books, boarding and lodging facilities to the students of Madrassah during the first eight months of the current financial year, joint secretary and spokesman for the Ministry of Religious Affairs Ilyas Dar told APP here on Monday. On the procedure of admission, he said, admission to first year (grade-VI) is granted to students aged between 10 to 13 years on merit, on the basis of tests and interviews after advertising new admissions in the national press.
Responding to a question about other facilities, he said all students are provided free education, free boarding and lodging and free books. "The students eligible for Zakat are provided free messing out of Zakat funds," he added.
Regarding syllabi and courses being taught in the Madrassah, he said modern subjects, including English, mathematics, general science, economics, Urdu, social studies, Persian and computer are taught in the morning session.
The classes of religious subjects, including the Holy Quran, Life and Sayings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), Arabic Grammar, Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence, Arabic language and literature and logic (Mantiq) are held in the evening session. About examination procedure, he said, "International Islamic University, Islamabad conducts secondary school and higher examinations and issues certificates and degrees on behalf of Pakistan Madrassah Education Board to the students."
Talking about teaching staff, he said services of highly qualified and experienced teaching faculty having master level education in the respective subjects are acquired. The religious teachers have also master level degrees from religious schools as well as national universities, he said and added, some of the teachers are candidates for PhD programmes.
Ilyas Dar said: " Library with loaning facility of textbooks and computer labs, equipped with Pentium 4 PCs, are available to 100 percent students."
He said two other model Deeni Madaris for boys, one each in Karachi and Sukkur, were imparting religious and modern education.