Mosques can play a crucial role in provision of education to out-of-school children along with imparting religious ethos for socio-economic development: President Alvi

KARACHI, Jan 29 (SABAH): President Dr Arif Alvi has said that mosques can play a crucial role in the provision of education to out-of-school children along with imparting religious ethos for the socio-economic development of the country.

He said that mosques occupy a central place in Muslim society and could be utilized to educate people about preventing diseases and other important social issues. The President expressed these views while chairing a meeting on the role of Masajid and Madaris in promoting education and creating awareness about health issues. The meeting was attended by the Caretaker Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Inter-faith Harmony, Dr Aneeq Ahmed, and religious scholars from various schools of thought.

Addressing the meeting, the President highlighted that educating 26 million out-of-school children was an uphill task in the wake of inadequate educational infrastructure. He added that building new schools would require tremendous resources as well as time. He said that utilizing almost 2.5 lacs mosques across the country could provide a unique and cost-effective avenue to bring these children back to education.

The President said that mosques could be used as centres of education by incorporating the Government’s Accelerated Learning Program. Pakistan should have mosques at the centre of society imparting worldly and religious education to fight the challenges of society, he added.

The Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Inter-Faith Harmony apprised the meeting that Mosques could be used at the optimum level by enhancing the role of “Pesh Imam” who would supervise educational activities in mosques.

Participants of the meeting appreciated the vision of the President and highlighted that capacity building of Pesh Imams was required to turn the idea into reality.