A special committee will be established to review the conditions needed to be complied by 137 private religious schools under the control of Islamic Religious Schools Enactment 1988 in Kedah.

Kedah Islamic Affairs Department director Datuk Abdul Rahman Ismail said the government viewed the matter seriously and wanted schools to meet regulatory conditions including those set by the Fire and Rescue Department before being allowed to operate.

"The fire at a tahfiz centre before this should open the eyes of all and we needed to review the existing registered schools and new schools for fire safety features," he told reporters at the safety briefing for religious schools in the state here on Thursday.

In the programme, 137 principals attended the briefing presented by Kedah Fire and Rescue Department.

Apart from that, Abdul Rahman said the committee was also tasked with coordinating all curriculum of religious schools to ensure the students possessed recognised certificates after completing their studies.

-- BERNAMA