The Malaysian Insight

SOME 150,000 children nationwide are studying in tahfiz schools to become “huffaz”, or “guardians” who can recite from memory the entire Quran and thousands of hadiths.

The number is growing due to the increasing demand by parents for their children to get a religious education, said Mohd Zahid Mahmood, president of the Association of Tahfiz Al-Quran Institutions (Pinta).

As of January, there were more than 1,000 tahfiz schools nationwide, but only 618 – around 60% – were registered with the Education Ministry and state religious departments.

All that tahfiz graduates can aspire to be are imams, ustaz, Kafa teachers giving classes on the Quran and “fardu ain” (Muslims’ personal obligations) or Department of Islamic Development clerks.

The authorities have recognised that it is not an ideal situation. Tahfiz graduates find it difficult to pursue a tertiary education in a professional field, and have limited options in the job market.

“We are seeing many tahfiz students facing a lot of obstacles sitting the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) exams to get into university,” Zahid said in an interview with The Malaysian Insight on the new government’s plans to expand the scope of tahfiz education, so that students have wider tertiary education and job options.

The push must be led by the government, as many parents still consider tahfiz schools as the last recourse for academically weak children.

Education Minister Dr Mazlee Malik has said the government will look at Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) for tahfiz students, and has urged more of them to sit the SPM exams.

Zahid said Pinta is working with the government on plans to produce 125,000 tahfiz graduates with professional qualifications.

“We want to prepare the way for them to take professional courses. We have to prepare the way for them, so that there will be a generation that not only knows the Quran well, but can also hold professional jobs.”

He said there is no reason huffaz cannot pursue a master’s degree or PhD.

“If we look at the Islamic scholars of the past, they were not only religious scholars, but also scientists, doctors and memorisers. That is what we want to revive.”

Parents’ mindset

The issues facing tahfiz graduates were already recognised in 2013, in a Khazanah Research Institute study.

It found that at the public secondary school level, there were more children in government-aided religious schools (61,818) than in technical and vocational schools (40,917).

It recommended that Malaysia’s education system provide alternatives for those who did not want to go to university, and suggested the expansion of TVET so that students, from as early as Form Four, could start learning a trade or skill.

For tahfiz schools, the long-term view of expanding the curriculum and increasing students’ options will have to come from the top, as parents by and large display a different attitude towards a tahfiz education.

Zahid said more and more parents are choosing a religious education for their children as they have given up on pushing their kids academically.

“In the last five years, 70% of parents have shown this kind of mentality. They place their kids in tahfiz schools because they feel their children have no chance academically.

“By enrolling their kids in tahfiz schools, they think their children can become useful people, by becoming imams or ustaz.”

Unfortunately, some also see tahfiz schools as a “cure” for children with bad behaviour, or those who get involved in social ills.

“Parents hope that their children will turn out to be good kids. At the very least, they can become imams and be of some use to society.

“This is not fair to tahfiz schools, making them responsible for children’s disciplinary problems. Besides, if a child does not already have foundational knowledge when it comes to religion, it is hard to help them become huffaz.”

He said Pinta wants tahfiz schools to have autonomy over how they select and admit students, to ensure quality.

“It’s difficult to control the influx of problematic students because sometimes, parents don’t tell us what the problem is with their children.”

Creating opportunities

Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia chairman Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said parents’ choice to have their children enrolled in tahfiz schools must be respected.

She said from the Islamic point of view, it is an act of sacrifice by the parents, affirming their faith in Allah.

But, she said, recognising that tahfiz graduates are limited in their education and job options, students at such schools should be urged to sit national exams, in addition to following the tahfiz curriculum.

“This was mooted by the previous (education) minister. The new minister has agreed to follow this through. A minimum number of subjects is encouraged, so that students can get the relevant certificates to get better jobs,” she told The Malaysian Insight.

Noor Azimah added that parents are likely to be open to these changes, as they provide tahfiz graduates with more job opportunities.

“Our main issue now is that parents are enrolling low-performing students in tahfiz schools at age 13, as if, ‘since you are not good for this world, let’s move you to the other world’.

“Definitely, TVET needs to be incorporated in tahfiz schools.” – August 12, 2018.