ISLAMABAD – Major General (Retired) Dr. Ghulam Qamar has been reappointed for another three-year term as Director General of the Directorate General for Religious Education (DGRE). This decision comes at a time when the government has introduced new regulations for the registration of seminaries across Pakistan.
Dr. Qamar, who has been leading efforts to reform madrassahs, will continue to oversee this crucial initiative, with his tenure now extended beyond the initial 1.5 years. He emphasized the importance of reforms in three key sectors of Pakistan’s education system: public institutions, private schools, and madrassahs.
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This reappointment occurs against the backdrop of ongoing challenges faced by previous reform efforts. Six years ago, the PTI-led government proposed a strategy to integrate madrassahs into the broader education system, although these attempts encountered numerous hurdles. The current government, led by Prime Minister Sharif, has approved a religious seminaries bill following pressure from the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF), which seeks to simplify the registration process for madrassahs by returning control of registration to district authorities and reducing overall government oversight. JUIF claims this measure will help preserve the autonomy of seminaries.
