As many as 17,738 madressahs are registered with the government, the education ministry told the Senate on Thursday as some religious leaders urge authorities to issue a gazette notification on the seminary bill.

“The total number of registered students in these madressahs is 2,249,520,” the ministry told the Upper House of Parliament during a question-and-answer session

In Punjab, there are 10,012 registered madressahs with a student population of 664,065. In Sindh, the number of registered seminaries is 2,416, accommodating 188,182 students.

Balochistan has a total of 575 registered madressahs with 71,815 students enrolled. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has 4,005 registered madressahas and a total of 1,283,024 students.

In Azad Jammu and Kashmir, there are 445 registered madressahs with 26,787 students. Islamabad has 199 registered madressahs and 11,301 students. Gilgit-Baltistan has 86 registered madressahs with 4,346 students.

“There is no direct financing of madaris however, DGRE has provided 1,196 teachers in 598 madaris and provided textbooks to 154,849 students enrolled in registered madaris to impact contemporary education,” it said.