The Higher Education Commission (HEC) directed Universities to include teaching of holy Quran in their curriculum with declaration of “mandatory requirement” for degree award. According to a letter written by Advisor Academics and Curriculum &NAHE Muhammad Raza Chohan, available with Daily Times, the all public and private sector universities and Degree Awarding Institutes (DAIs) are directed to follow the religious line in their academic practice as to make it mandatory to make Holy Quran as part of curriculum by June 30, 2023. “The teaching of the Holy Quran in universities is fundamental in providing Muslim youth with a deeper understanding of their fait as well as in preservation and observation of the Islamic values of morality, ethics and social justice,” the letter reads. It added “in view of a resolution passed by senate of Pakistan in recent, all Pakistani universities and DAIs are advised to incorporate a requirement for all undergraduate degree programs with effect from fall 2023 within making mart of examination or provision of additional marks. The course shall be non-credited.” The HEC further asked the varsities that the comprehensive compliance report with detailed delivery mechanism and protocols thereof duly approved by the concerned statutory body of the varsity or DAI in response to this advisory must be furnished within given time. The Syndicates, Academic Councils, Board of Governance are common bodies at varsities to process and approve or execute such decision of the monitoring authority. Later in January this year, the Senate of Pakistan unanimously passed a resolution, recommending attaining knowledge of the Holy Quran at educational institutes from primary to a higher level. Moved by Senator Mushtaq Ahmed of Jamaat-e-Islami, the resolution was said to be in line with the constitutional provisions. It was said in the resolution that it is a fact that in-depth knowledge of the Holy Quran and the Sunnah was mandatory for attaining religious, political, economic, social, and other facets of an ideal society. It added that universities and colleges were the nurseries for preparing committed, productive, and good human beings, who “eventually contribute towards attaining healthy, progressive and moral social order in a society”. “An individual harnessed with the divine knowledge of the Holy Quran and the Sunnah can play a pivotal role in the progress and development of Pakistan in its true sense,” the resolution reiterated. It appreciated the initiative taken in the Punjab province where education of the Holy Quran with translation had been made mandatory in all public sector universities purely for knowledge and learning purposes. “Teaching of the Holy Quran with translation, Tajveed and Tafseer should be made compulsory in all universities of Pakistan for students of all disciplines, without making it part of examinations or provision of additional marks so that focus should remain on an acquisition of learning and knowledge of the Holy Quran,” it added. An official at the HEC said while wishing anonymity that such an initiative was needed for hour and would have been taken a long time ago though. “Although, it should have been implemented too before but it’s better now as well than never,” he said, adding that merely issuing the letter to the universities was not sufficient. “The HEC should also follow its practical implementation in letter and spirit,” he suggested, recalling that usually most of the varsities have no objection to such rulings and, he hoped, this direction would be followed by all means.