Parents not keen to transfer kids

An ardent lot: Pupils waiting for the Asar prayers to begin at the religious school in Kampung Lukut in Kota Tinggi, Johor.

KOTA TINGGI: Some parents of the private religious school attended by the late Moha­mad Thaqif Amin Mohd Gaddafi will not transfer their children despite his death.

A parent, a 39-year-old mother who only wanted to be known as Zura, said it was unfair for people to punish the school for a person’s mistake.

“The school and its teachers are very good and they have helped to nurture my son to become a very pious person.

“I enrolled my son at the school in December last year and he has changed a lot from someone who is so engrossed with mobile phones and television to a son who always listens to his parents,” she said yesterday.

Another parent, a businessman who only wanted to be known as Mohd Fadzli, 41, said his 16-year-old son never complained to him after he was enrolled there a year ago.

“I was surprised when the newspapers reported about the case as my son never complained about the school and he always praised his teachers,” he said.

The Star journalists who were invited to visit the school in Kampung Lukut here yesterday saw a group of children reciting Quranic verses while waiting for Asar prayers at a surau.

The facilities available at the school are a dormitory, three badminton courts, a futsal court and a gym.

In Johor Baru, state Islamic Committee chairman Abd Mutalip Abd Rahim said changes would be made in the running of Islamic religious schools in Johor, including privately-run ones.

Tahfiz schools would be asked to register with Johor Religious Islamic Department (JAIJ), while checks will be made on the hiring of teachers and staff as well as on its education system.

Abd Mutalip said in the guidelines introduced under the Johor Tahfiz Quality Assurance System, most tahfiz (Quran recitation) students did not have basic national education backgrounds as they did not sit for their PMR or SPM examinations.

Some of these children have been enrolled at the respective schools as early as six by their parents. There are 86 registered privately-run tahfiz schools in Johor.

“JAIJ will ask these children to sit for such examinations as the private schools do not have Govern­ment accreditation.

“This shortcoming is a problem for students who want to go for further education,” he said after the launch of the fifth Multaqa Ulama Da­­rul Ta’zim held in conjunction with Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar’s recent birthday celebration.

Abd Mutalip said JAIJ would hold a meeting next month on the matter before a report is presented to the Johor Ruler for his consent.