Schools That Time Forgot

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Some people complain about vernacular schools being places of division, but if they are really concerned about the well-being and racial integration of our school-going children, why don’t they say anything about tahfiz schools?
Do they keep quiet because these are religious schools and they will be seen as “Islam bashing”?
Do they fear a backlash from friends, relatives or on social media? Or are they afraid of the “thought police” knocking on their doors?
One does not read in the newspapers about sexual assaults, beatings and devastating fires breaking out in vernacular schools.
ADSOn the other hand, tahfiz schools have been places where teachers, principals and wardens have molested, sodomised and beaten their students.
Some of these schools have poor fire and safety standards, thus endangering the lives of the students and teachers.
The crimes reported in the newspapers probably represent the tip of the iceberg. The victims suffer in silence as a result of fear, peer pressure, threats, blackmail, and the humiliation and shame brought on them and their families.
Limited ambition bubble
A lawyer working on a project which involves close collaboration with tahfiz schools asked the schoolboys about their ambition when they eventually leave school.
She was horrified when all of them said, “Nak jadi ustaz (I want to become an ustaz).”
Whilst there is nothing wrong with aspiring to be an ustaz, some of us will wonder what motivated them to be preachers.
Is this because the children are not exposed to other fulfilling career paths?
You may recall your answer when, as a primary school pupil, you were asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
The choice amongst my friends and me was endless; from artist to astronaut, dancer to DJ, footballer to firefighter and pilot to prime minister. The norm for Malaysian parents was almost always - doctor, lawyer or engineer.
If anecdotal evidence is to be believed, right up to the 1990s, the average Malay boy would have equally ambitious plans, but today, a massive change seems to have occurred.
A social worker friend who works mainly with children said, “These days, many Malay boys aspire to become ustaz. They appear to have no other ambition and few interests.
ADS“Their parents are equally disinterested in their sons’ lifelong ambitions to achieve much more in life."
In Kelantan recently, it was reported that there was an alarming increase in incestuous relationships, sexual crimes and rape.
The response from the state administrators was expected. They claimed that they had conducted several Islamic education programmes to deter such crimes. Are they more daft than we thought?
Sex education no-no
Some may argue that increased religious education would lead to sexual repression, but there is no justification or excuse for the perpetrators to commit sexual crimes against their victims.
Whilst many people have expressed the need for the Education Ministry to introduce sexual education in schools, including in tahfiz schools, the obstacles are huge.
Some teachers are reluctant to teach sex education, and many parents think that sex education would encourage “free sex”. The parents must know that many children, even primary school children, learn about sex from the internet.
Are tahfiz schools, both licensed and unlicensed ones, regulated? There have been far too many sexual assaults and safety lapses in the tahfiz schools.
Will the Madani administration tighten up regulations and have stricter, frequent enforcement? Or will it emulate former Umno-Baru governmental cover-ups?
What is daily life like in a tahfiz school, apart from memorising the Quran? Is the Malaysian curriculum followed? How do the students contribute to nation-building?
Are their teachers registered and accredited? Are the workers and teaching staff vetted? What are the schools' safeguarding policies?
Left in cinders
The 2017 fire in the Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah in Kampung Datuk Keramat, Kuala Lumpur claimed 23 lives. The owner of the tahfiz building was the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council (MAIWP).
The Fire Department's recommendations were ignored, but was the head of MAIWP and the headmaster punished? No!
The then urban wellbeing, housing and local government minister Noh Omar confirmed that the school had been operating without building approval from the local authorities.
He declined to take action against the owners and headmaster because "the school had suffered enough."
The parents were told that their children had died as martyrs and gone to heaven. The rank hypocrisy of the authorities is eye-watering.
Horrific deadly abuse
In 2017, 11-year-old Thaqif Amin Gaddafi died after a severe beating by his tahfiz school warden. Both his arms and legs had to be amputated.
The allegation was that a metal rod was used to beat the soles of his feet, but the school denied this and said that the warden used a rubber hose to encourage learning.
Children who were physically or sexually abused carry their mental scars for life. Parents whose children perished in the fire were denied justice.
You'd expect the regulations to be reinforced. When the victims' families demanded answers, they were often stonewalled.
Investigations mirror our high-profile corruption trials. They appear to take forever, with no resolution in sight.
There is no follow-up in the tahfiz establishments. These are schools that time forgot. - Mkini
MARIAM MOKHTAR is a defender of the truth, the admiral-general of the Green Bean Army, and the president of the Perak Liberation Organisation (PLO). Blog, X.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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