The Catholic Board of Education is the arm of the Roman Catholic Church in Pakistan responsible for education.[1] Each diocese has its own board. Collectively the Catholic Church runs 534 schools, 8 colleges, and 7 technical institutes in its 2 archdioceses, 4 dioceses, and one Apostolic Prefecture.[2]
The Government of Pakistan nationalised most church schools and colleges in Punjab and Sindh in 1972. Elite schools such as St Patrick's High School, Karachi, St Joseph's Convent School (Karachi) and St Michael's Convent School Lahore were never nationalised.
The Government of Sindh oversaw a denationalisation programme from 1985 to 1995, and the Government of Punjab began a similar program in 1996. In 2001, the Federal Government and the courts ordered the provincial governments to complete the denationalisation process. In May 2005, the Sindh Government announced its intention to handover St. Patrick's and St. Joseph's colleges to the Catholic Board of Education.[3]