Due to the rising inflation and depressed economic situation in Pakistan, where there is a negative impact on other areas of life, religious schools are also affected by it, but the situation in these institutions is not too bad.
Abdul Wadud, Mufti of Madrasa Ahya-ul-Uloom in Dir Zareen district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, told Independent Urdu that the religious schools have been affected, but the situation is not so dire.
“Due to the aid received from philanthropists, we have not reduced the number of our students even in this severe inflation, while our annual budget is also increasing.”
He said that last year the budget of his seminary was around one crore rupees, while for the current financial year it has increased to more than one and a half crore rupees.
Mufti Abdul Wadud said that there is no possibility of closure of his seminary.
He further said that in order to control the expenses, the food given to the students in the Madrasa has been changed, according to which, unlike the past, meat curry is being given every 15 days or once in a month instead of once a week. While the amount of meat has also been reduced.
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‘This has been done because the prices of meat and poultry have increased enormously.’
He said that religious madrasas collect donations in the months of Rajab and Ramadan, but the donation is less than 10 percent of the annual budget of any madrasa.
‘We leave all these matters to Allah. After the donation, some philanthropists come individually and provide help to bear the expenses and this series continues.’
Mufti Abdul Wadud said that he has also intensified the fundraising campaign and in this regard, a mufti has been appointed to take charge of Karachi and some seminaries in the nearby areas.
According to the 2019 data of the Federal Ministry of Education in Pakistan, there are a total of more than 35 thousand religious schools in the country, in which more than 3 million students are studying.
According to the Federal Ministry of Education, more than 26,000 of these 35,000 Madrasahs are registered under the Societies Act, while more than 25,000 Madrasahs are working under Madrasah Boards of the respective sects.
