SUNGAI PETANI: The Kedah government has urged private Islamic religious institutions which have yet to register with the state authorities to do so immediately.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said the move was vital in improving the safety aspect of pondok and tahfiz schools in the state.
He said the state government has identified 94 private Islamic institutions in the state that have registered with the Kedah Islamic Schools Affairs Organisation (Hesa) but yet to register with the state government.
"I wish to urge the 94 institutions under Hesa which have yet to register with the state government to do so immediately so that it will be easier for the state government to channel aid to them in future," he said.
Sanusi said this in his speech, delivered by state executive councillor Mohd Azam Samad, at the distribution of capital aid for Islamic religious institutions in Kedah here.
He added that the move would enable the institutions to improve their safety aspects, particularly concerning fire safety.
"Schools that are registered will undergo safety inspection and approval by the Fire and Rescue Department.
"This matter demands serious attention due to the high fire incident rate among pondok and tahfiz schools.
"Since this involves safety issues, it may erode confidence amongst parents to send their children to Islamic religious schools and if we don't take this matter seriously, it will compromise our objective to improve the quality of Islamic education amongst the current and future young generation.
"I must stress that this issue should be taken seriously as fire incidents at these schools could be fatal and discredit the image of Islamic schools," he said.
Sanusi also called on Islamic religious institutions in the state to continuously update their curriculum to reflect the current developments and challenges.
"We must make sure that the syllabus in Islamic schools is always relevant to current development. This means we need to consistently update the curriculum and to ensure that it is relevant to the current needs and challenges.
"We must also make sure that our students are equipped with skills to be successful, such as critical thinking, communications skills, TVET (technical and vocational education and training) and so on.
During the event, the state government distributed RM1.287 million cash aid to Islamic religious institutions in Kedah.