District education officer Mohd Razali Mustafar said this was because prayer is one of the key elements in character building, especially among schoolchildren.
He added that it helps to strengthen their personality and to prevent them from getting involved in social problems.
“In striving towards excellence, we are focusing on five main elements, namely character building, information and communication technology, English proficiency, middle leader (teachers) and smart multiplication.
“As such, each school must hold a mass prayer at any suitable area in the school compound,” he said when opening the Academic Excellence Award Day at Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Bukit Goh here.
Razali said he targetted 10% of Muslim male students in the district to be able to recite the Quran, become an imam and even lead a “doa selamat” and “tahlil prayers”.
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