In the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a notable number of religious schools are operating without official registration as per official documents, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Out of the total 6,482 religious schools, more than 1,500 are unregistered.
Mardan district has the highest concentration of these institutions, hosting 602 religious schools.
However, it is alarming to note that 181 of these schools in Mardan are not registered, and 283 are not affiliated with any school board.
The majority of the religious schools, numbering 5,362, are affiliated with Wafaq ul Madaris Al-Arabia.
These schools are home to a large number of students, both local and foreign. The local student population exceeds 702,000, while the number of foreign students is 6,596.
The teaching staff at these religious schools is also diverse, with 322 foreign teachers and 32,842 local teachers imparting education.