More than 900 new private Islamic schools that have mushroomed across Malaysia in the last six years.
Many Muslim parents see public schools as unable to build character, strengthen religious beliefs and instil good moral values in their children. So they are sending their children to these Islamic institutions, or tahfiz – the word literally means “memorising” (the Quran), – even though most of them charge tuition, while public schooling is free, reports the Straits Times.
“Children who go to tahfiz schools are more polite, obedient and fulfil their religious obligations,” the report quoted senior clerk Zulkifli Ahmad, described as typical of Malaysians who think the switch is worth the cost.
He added that he was less worried about his child coming into contact with bad influences in such a school.
“Society is returning to religion and there’s a demand now for tahfiz schools,” Muhammad Shariff Azhari, a director at Matan Centre, which runs three private religious schools nationwide including Maahad Tahfiz An-Nabawi, told the newspaper, in the report entitled ‘Private Islamic schools mushrooming in Malaysia’ (Straits Times, 28 June 2017).
Tahfiz education has become big news in Malaysia because of a tragic event in April – an administrator at one such school in Johor allegedly abused an 11-year-old boy so badly that he died. The case is under police investigation. Also in April, Prime Minister Najib Razak gave RM30 million (S$9.7 million) to develop tahfiz education – a first by the government to provide financial aid to empower privately run institutions.
The report noted that tahfiz schools are not the only ones booming in Malaysia. Private educational institutions of all kinds are doing well, with international schools seeing a growth spurt, while enrolment at Chinese independent schools is also rising as more students ditch national schools.
But education at tahfiz schools is different from that at other private institutions. Each school sets its own syllabus, with an emphasis on memorising the Quran. So most students end up becoming ustaz after they graduate, contributing to a rising number of religious teachers. Others pursue different courses in universities that are usually linked to Islam, such as becoming an imam or a syariah lawyer.
There are more than 600 unregistered tahfiz schools, and they are not subject to any one system at the moment. The result? The quality of tahfiz schools varies greatly, it added.
Tahfiz schools were introduced in the 1960s when Malaysia’s first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, started one in the national mosque in downtown Kuala Lumpur, the same report added.
Many Islamic teachers – or ustaz – attribute the growth of tahfiz schools over the decades to Kelantan’s state government, which is run by Parti Islam SeMalaysia. The party’s revered former spiritual leader, Nik Aziz Nik Mat, affectionately called Tok Guru by his students, set up the state’s first tahfiz school in 1992. With the state government’s support, more than 100 tahfiz schools were set up.
As of January 2016, more than 36,000 students were in 547 tahfiz schools registered with the state’s religious department. There is no known figure for enrolment in unregistered tahfiz schools nationwide, it added.
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