Deputy Education minister Chong Sin Woon today said with the schools coming under the Islamic Development Department (Jakim), it would be easier for the authorities to monitor compliance to federal procedures on such matters.
He said that ex-convicts should not be hired as wardens or supervisors overseeing students’ welfare at such centres.
“It is not wrong to hire an ex-convict, but not as the warden,” he said at a press conference after attending the 2017 Anugerah Nilam ceremony held at the Putra World Trade Centre here.
On Wednesday, Mohamad Thaqif Amin Mohd Gaddafi, 11, died after having both legs amputated and slipping into a coma, following repeated beatings sustained at the tahfiz centre he was attending at Kota Tinggi, Johor.
Education Minister Mahdzir Khalid said yesterday that the ministry was facing difficulty monitoring tahfiz schools which were set up privately and urged the establishments to register with both the ministry and Jakim.
Mahdzir had earlier also said that private religious stream schools, including tahfiz institutions, would be registered under Jakim soon, in line with the National Tahfiz Education Policy suggested by Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Chong also said the ministry had strict procedures and guidelines that should be followed before physical punishment like caning was inflicted on a student.
“Only principals and disciplinary teachers can cane a student,” he said.
“Even then, there are other procedures they have to go through before caning, which includes counselling for the students,” he said.
Chong urged parents to communicate and listen more to their children to help detect and curb the abuse of students in schools.
Ayub Rahmat, Johor state executive councillor for health, environment, education and information, said yesterday that the post-mortem report on Thaqif’s case will likely be ready in the next two weeks.
He said the Sultan Ismail Hospital where Thaqif was warded needed to conduct a thorough study on the physical injuries recorded on his body.
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