Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa minister defends changes to Islamiat syllabus

Says no surah or hadith have been removed, mullahs only using it as pretext for unrest.

PESHAWAR: The Islamiat course for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has been changed but no Quranic verse or tradition of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has been deleted from it, a provincial minister said on Tuesday.

“The government has only categorised the course for various classes,” Minister for Elementary and Secondary Education Sardar Hussain Babak said, in response to criticism by religious parties against the provincial government’s move.

Instead, he said, the current government had increased the weight of Islamiat in the overall grade received by students who sit the matriculation examinations. Islamiat will also be taught to students in the 10th and 12th grades, he said. “Previously, under the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal’s rule, it was only taught to 9th and 11th graders.

He also said that previously, the course included 20 hadith which have now been increased to 25. “No lesson about the Holy Prophet (pbuh) has been deleted from the course.”

Criticising the religious leaders who had spoken against the change, Babak said that some mullahs were using this as a pretext to spread unrest. “The government will not talk to these religious leaders.”

“Under the 18th amendment, preparation of coursework has been delegated to provinces and the government had earlier sought the opinions of religious leaders, educationists and people from all walks of life. No one came up with any suggestions,” he said.

He also said that no lesson about Quaid-e-Azam had been removed and said that an essay was already included in the Pakistan Studies book.