Controversy Arises as Punjab Decides Not to Print Quran for Classes 1 to 5 This Year

Punjab Decides Not to Print Quran for Classes 1 to 5: Concerns have been raise by educators and religious publishers after the Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board (PCTB) made the contentious decision to stop printing Quranic Chapters (Siparas) for children in grades one through five.

This decision is made in spite of the fact that Punjabi pupils received over 7.9 million Quranic chapters last year.

The explanation given for the printing stoppage is a shortage of funding, which has stakeholders scratching their heads. The board paid almost Rs. 1.5 billion in expenses last year to publish the Quranic Chapters.
According to reports, the PCTB has chosen not to print the Quranic Chapters for the upcoming academic year 2024–2025, citing financial concerns.

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Furthermore, there is a suggestion to shrink textbook sizes, which is view as a cost-cutting approach.
Summaries of these decisions have been give to the Chief Secretary and the Secretary of Education for evaluation; final approval of these decisions is still pending.

Punjab Decides Not to Print Quran for Classes 1 to 5

The PCTB’s decision has drawn harsh criticism from prominent people such as President Qudratullah and Patron-in-Chief Hafiz Al-Barakat Shah, as well as from Syed Ahsan Mahmood Shah, the Chairman of the Quran Publishers Association of Pakistan. They want the Punjabi government to change its mind since they think it’s improper and against the law.

Maulana Hafiz Fazl Rahim, the Chairman of the Punjab Quran Board, has written to the Chief Minister of Punjab to request assistance in light of these occurrences.

He made it clear that the government has not issued an official mandate to permanently stop publishing the Quranic Chapters.

Many are worrie that this decision would have a major impact on young pupils’ religious education and are concern about how it will affect Quranic education in Punjab’s public schools. The matter is still open and pending more action from the government of Punjab.