Religious education for minorities

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 issue the notification was highly appreciated, but many questions were also raised. Of course, these questions were already in the minds of those who were advocating the move. Following are some discussion points around these questions.

Who will teach these additional subjects? Will teachers from the six minority communities be recruited in every school? Children living anywhere in the country should be equal in the eyes of the state. If the required infrastructure is provided to children of the majority faith to pursue their religious education, then this should also be the case for children belonging to religious minorities.

Minority communities have long wanted their children to be taught their own religion at school.

In practice, children of every religion are not present in every school in Punjab. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the population of Christians in Punjab is 24.6 million and the population of Hindus is about 22,850. The remaining are smaller communities. The government is aware of the number of religious minorities in each part of the province. The number of children going to school is expected to be proportional to the population of religious minorities. From this population, teachers can be recruited for children of a specific religion. Danish George, coordinator for Christian education in Pectaa, told the media that “teachers will be recruited to provide religious education to minority students in all government schools across the province”.

How many children belonging to religious minorities study at government schools? Will private schools follow this decision? Even if a school has just one child from a minority community, the protection of the child’s religious freedom is as important as that of all the children belonging to the majority faith studying in the school. As far as private schools are concerned, they also work under government rules and regulations. Once this policy is made, they will follow it.

Another concern is that children from religious minorities would be easily identifiable and socially targeted. Currently, some students from minority communities are studying ethics and others Islamiat. These options do not align with their right of choice. If they opt for the latter, it is not easy for them to learn Arabic verses. If they select ethics, they are identifiable as minorities. Ethics content is also written from the perspective of the majority religion. There are no specialised teachers for ethics. It amounts to students from the majority community studying their own religion, and minorities students studying Islamiat too. According to Article (2) of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, the state cannot discriminate among its children on the basis of religion. Ethics should be compulsory for all students to promote peace and harmony and children from the minority communities should not have to study ethics separately.

Another critical question that has often been debated is the involvement of the state in teaching religion in schools. Indeed, Article (14) of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child requires the state to recognise the right of parents or guardians to provide religious guidance to their children in a manner consistent with the evolving capacities of the child. However, if the state is doing so for students of the majority faith, it should do the same for students from minority groups.

The Punjab government has taken a strong initiative. A solid strategy is needed to implement this major decision. It should not lead to the social isolation of minority children; rather, it should enhance the beauty of religious diversity in Pakistan.

A major challenge for children belonging to religious minorities is that, besides Nazra and Islamiat, almost 40 per cent of the lessons in the compulsory subjects, such as Urdu, English, social studies and general knowledge, incorporate themes from mainstream religious beliefs, which children from minorities’ groups also have to study. Article 22 (1) of the Constitution of Pak­istan states: “No person attending any educatio­nal institution shall be required to receive religi­ous instructions, or take part in any religious ceremony, or attend religious worship, if such instruction, ceremony, or worship relates to a religion other than his own.” We as a society should uphold this standard to our highest ability, providing room for tolerance in a rich and multi-faith Pakistan.

The writer is a member of the Working Group at the National Commission on the Rights of Child.

X: @NabilaFBhatti

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2026