TAHFIZ SCHOOLS DESERVE HELPING HAND
DEPUTY Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s call to tahfiz schools to portray a good image of Islam and prioritise students’ safety is timely.
The accident that killed seven students in Kuala Krai, Kelantan, last week has shocked the country. Lasting images of the crash scene, grieving parents at graveyards, cries of sorrow in hospitals show the story behind such tragedies.
The families in the tragedy, like other previous victims, will come to terms by and by.
We often hear of words like sabr (patience) and redha (acceptance), two concepts ingrained in Muslims cited over and over again to console family members, but the pain remains.
Over the years, tahfiz schools have been involved in many tragedies and shameful incidents, including cases of death by fire, bullying, sexual abuses, mass hysteria, severe punishments of students and mismanagement of schools.
These have often invoked feelings of anger and contempt, but they fizzle out, leaving families devastated and schools as they are.
Sadly, nobody dares to discuss the issues plaguing these schools.
Many politicians are aware of the situation but do not mention it, lest they be looked upon as enemies of Islam.
The problems include lack of security measures; inadequate water supply, electricity and reading materials; squalor in dorms, kitchens and a lack of food hygiene; poor transportation system; bad financial administration due to lack of funds; little administrative knowledge among mudir (head of school) and low standards of teaching and learning.
The schools are run in an authoritative manner reminiscent of tahfiz schools in Pakistan and Eygpt, where rote learning in big groups is the trend and the educational approach is teachercentred.
Despite these weaknesses, tahfiz schools have made great contributions to Islam.
It is from these schools that we get our pool of hafazan, or Quran reciters, and imam for most kampong surau and mosques.
The circumstances surrounding most of these schools have often invited sympathy and compassion of Muslims, but nothing much can be done as these are private, independent schools funded by the public and individuals.
We can categorise them as being socially marginalised groups of schools adopting strategies of survival with their modest and astute way of life. The fact is they need help.
The government should support them financially and help them to improve regardless of their political stand.
In the past, there has been a tendency for some of these schools to stray from mainstream ideology and propagate anti-social behaviour.
Some students from these schools have also been known to support extreme Islamic ideologies. They must be brought back to the fold.
Like our Malay, Chinese, Indian and missionary schools, students of tahfiz schools deserve help as they are Malaysian Muslims.