KUALA LUMPUR: The tahfiz school at the centre of controversy after allegations surfaced that its headmaster had sexually assaulted several of the students is still open, even though it has been confirmed that it is not registered.
All three of the teaching staff at the tahfiz, however, are no longer at the school.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa said many of the school’s students, including several who had claimed to have been sexually assaulted, were still being sent there.
As such, he urged the parents of those children still there to take them home.
“I have found that this school did not get approval from the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) as the operator had failed to present the safety report from the Fire and Rescue Department and City Hall,” he told reporters after a surprise visit to the school.
In a closed-door session, he met with the alleged victims and the school management, including the wife of the headmaster.
The headmaster had been charged with sexually attacking and sodomising nine teenage students over the past few months.
Mujahid said their parents seemed to not care about what had happened considering they were still sending their children to the school.
As such, he said, Jawi would try to assist by holding discussions with all the parents of students of the school.
The main objective of the discussions would be to provide lists of proper schools where the parents can send their children.
It is understood that the three teachers of the school had been the ones who initially reported their sexual assaults on the students.
“The three teachers have since left the school, so the students are just left to their own devices when they are sent to there,” said Mujahid.
Asked whether the school would be shut down, he said this was outside the jurisdiction of the ministry, adding that it was in the hands of City Hall and the Fire and Rescue Department.
Mujahid urged all tahfiz centres to register with the ministry so that all aspects of their operations could be monitored.
Asked about the number of tahfiz schools found to have not been registered with the ministry, he said there were many, likening them to mushrooms sprouting after a rainstorm.