KUALA LUMPUR: All private religious (tahfiz) schools will soon be registered under the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim), says Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid.
He said the move under the National Tahfiz Education Policy (DPTN) which was proposed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak would be implemented after Jakim finalised several issues, including the terms of registration for these schools.
“As the prime minister has said, these tahfiz centres will be fully registered under Jakim. When this happens, all private religious schools will be registered and it will be easy to implement any procedure on these schools,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby yesterday.
Last March, Najib announced that the government, through Jakim was in the process of drawing up the DPTN to empower the Quran tahfiz educational institutions in the country.
Commenting on the proposal to draw up guidelines for caning in religious schools, Mahdzir said private educational institutions including religious schools must follow the standard operating procedures (SOP) set by the ministry. — Bernama