Private religious, tahfiz schools to be registered under Jakim soon - Mahdzir

He said the move under the National Tahfiz Education Policy (DPTN) which was proposed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak would be implemented after JAKIM finalised several issues, including the terms of registration for these schools.

"As the prime minister has said, these tahfiz centres will be fully registered under JAKIM. When this happens, all private religious schools will be registered and it will be easy to implement any procedure on these schools," he told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.

Last March, Najib announced that the government, through JAKIM was in the process of drawing up the DPTN to empower the Quran tahfiz educational institutions in the country.

Commenting on the proposal to draw up guidelines for caning in religious schools, Mahdzir said private educational institutions including religious schools must follow the standard operating procedures (SOP) set by the ministry.

"Private religious schools, whichever jurisdiction they come under, must abide by the ministry's SOP whether in matters of discipline, welfare or responsibility of teachers and students.

"Similarly, when it comes to caning, there are set procedures," he noted.

Yesterday, National Parents-Teachers' Association chairman Datuk Mohamad Ali Hasan said there should be guidelines for caning in religious schools, like the ones currently under the ministry while there are currently none for those under the religious departments.