Hundreds of tahfiz schools nationwide hesitate to register themselves

PUTRAJAYA: Hundreds of tahfiz schools nationwide are reluctant to get themselves registered as they were afraid of not being able to comply with the standards set by the authorities.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said around 1,000 thafiz schools identified operating nationwide, only 612 have been properly registered.
He added some of the guidelines that needed to be followed by these schools to allow them to be registered were to have a proper wiring system, as well as to observe the safety standard set by the Fire and Rescue Department.
"They are not registered as they were concerned about not being able to comply with the requirements," he said.
"The compliance is not meant to burden them but to safeguard the safety of tahfiz students," he told a press conference after a ceremony to handover fire extinguisher to registered tahfiz schools at Perdana Putra.
Zahid said the federal government had limited power to enforce such standards to tahfiz schools as they are under the purview of religious authorities of their respective states.
"We cannot fully enforce the existing laws and acts. We ask them to comply for the sake of their students," he added.
Meanwhile, Zahid also called for tahfiz school graduates to equipped themselves with professional skills, apart from their ability to memorise the Quran.
He added he did not want for tahfiz school students to not be able to progress academically for lacking academic qualifications.
"Without academic qualifications, they have to stop without continuing their education. We are proposing that they must continue.
"Besides Al-Quran, they must also have academic qualifications in order to be professionals," he added.