ON March 30, the Punjab Education, Curriculum, Training and Assessment Authority (Pectaa) through a notification approved books for religious education in schools for students of six minority faiths — Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism, Kalash, Buddhism and Zoroastrianism — which will be implemented from this year.

Pakistan’s religious minorities and civil society have long been demanding that children from minority communities be taught their own religion instead of ethics or Islamic studies in schools. The government began work on this demand in 2021. The National Curriculum Council approved the preparation of religious textbooks for adherents of seven religions in 2023 — Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism, Kalash, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism and Baha’i.

At the federal level, capable people belonging to different faiths were selected from across the country to write textbooks for different religions. Education being the purview of the provinces after the 18th Amendment, the provincial governments were asked to print these books prepared by the National Book Foundation, a part of the Federal Ministry of Education, in their respective provinces and make them available for study. However, the governments continued to be lax. Reportedly, one provincial government demanded that the relevant community bear the expenses for the publication of these books, which is illogical. These books should be published in the same manner as all other textbooks, including Islamic Studies textbooks, are published.

The Punjab government’s decision to........

© Dawn