Ministry registering religious schools, tahfiz
PUTRAJAYA: The Education Ministry is registering tahfiz and religious schools in the country, said Deputy Education Minister Datuk P. Kamalanathan here yesterday.
However, some were reluctant to register, fearing the ministry would interfere in their pedagogical aspect of teaching.
“The ministry has registered many religious schools which have voluntarily come forward and we didn’t meddle with their syllabus.
“We made sure they go through safety and security inspections conducted by government agencies under the ministry,” he told the New
Straits Times.
Kamalanathan’s comments came in light of the fire incident that claimed the lives of 21 children and two teachers at Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah tahfiz school in Kampung Datuk Keramat, Kuala Lumpur, on Thursday.
He said most religious schools were registered under the state Religious Departments as they fell under the state’s jurisdiction.
“The main reason why some schools don’t want or refuse to be registered under the ministry is because they want to continue to operate independently and maintain their syllabus.”
It was reported in May that there were about 270 religious schools registered under the ministry.
Kamalanathan said although the process of registering religious schools under the ministry was ongoing, it is the ministry’s hope to make it compulsory.
The ministry and the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) were reported to be working together to draw up guidelines for the registration of tahfiz schools.