KUALA LUMPUR: The Islamic and Asian Civilisation Studies (Titas) course, to be made compulsory for students at private higher learning institutions, will not just cover Islamic civilisation but also Malay, Chinese and Indian civilisations, said Higher Education Department director-general Datuk Prof Dr Morshidi Sirat.
Referring to comments from certain quarters that the course should not be made compulsory for non-Muslim students, he said the matter should not arise since Titas was also compulsory for Muslim students to learn about Chinese and Indian civilisations.
“The subject has been taught in public universities since 2006. It is compulsory for all Malay, Chinese, Indian and bumiputra students from Sabah and Sarawak.”
“They have had no problems. In fact, some non-Muslim students obtained good results,” he said in a statement.
Dr Morshidi explained that the course was meant to expose students to the civilisations that had existed and which had contributed, among others, to the values system in Malaysia.
He stressed that Titas being made a compulsory subject should be seen as a way towards inculcating patriotism and unity.
Citing that the American system also had compulsory subjects for its local and international students, he said Titas was an avenue for students here to learn about the civilisation of the other ethnic groups.
He also noted that there were certain groups who were worried that the use of Bahasa Malaysia in the teaching and learning of Titas would cause problems for students who had never followed the national education system.
He said innovative and creative methods of teaching could be used to overcome such concerns. Related stories:
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