Send kids to religious schools, Jakim tells parents
Published on: Saturday, September 20, 2014
Kota Kinabalu: MUSLIM parents need to ensure their children learn to recite the Al-Quran and practice 'Fardhu Ain' (compulsory Islamic rituals) by sending them to Islamic religious schools that have Kafa (Fardhu Ain Religious Classes) classes in Sabah.Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) Director-General Dato' Othman Mustapha said it is imperative so that children are equipped with sufficient Islamic knowledge to face tougher challenges in the globalised era."Islamic education for our children is vital and we, as parents, need to make sure they get additional religious knowledge apart from learning it at national schools through the Islamic education subject.
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"Hence, we must send them to Kafa classes that are held in the afternoon and the parents should not feel that the afternoon classes are burdening their children because they are acquiring valuable and important religious knowledge that are useful and relevant throughout their lives," he said.Othman said this at the opening of a State-level 'Ihtifal Kafa' (Kafa competition) at an auditorium of the Federal Administrative Complex along Sulaman road here on Friday.Jakim Principal Assistant Director (Education Division) Ustaz Azizan bin Muhammad delivered Othman's speech at the event.A total of six zones involving Kafa and Islamic religious schools in Sabah took part in five competition events like Nasyid, Quran Recital, Public Speaking, Khat and Jawi art. The winner of each event will represent Sabah at the national level event to be held in Kuantan, Pahang on Nov 14-16.
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Also present were Sabah Mufti Ustaz Bungsu @ Aziz Jaafar, Jakim Sabah director Ustaz Halim Ahmad and other officials.Othman said Muslim children with three certificates on Islamic religious education at Islamic primary schools – Ujian Penilaian Kelas Kafa (UPKK) at Year 5 and Sijil Rendah Ugama (SRU) and the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) at Year Six amount to a valuable education package.
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He said UPKK is a national Islamic exam that is coordinated by Jakim."I am very pleased with the Unit Kafa under Jakim, the supervisors and Kafa teachers in Sabah for their commitment and efforts to improve performance and excellence quality of UPKK 2014."I was made to understand that 19.7 per cent students scored 8As in UPKK 2012 compared to 9.32 per cent students with straight As in 2011 and the performance of UPKK in 2013 continued to rise with a record 22.87 per cent students getting 8As," he said.On the Ihtifal programme, he said the event is part of Jakim's efforts to further educate the students on how to put into practice what they have learned into the competition.For instance, Othman said reciting the Quran beautifully will able to make them love to recite the Quran and in public speaking, the contestants learn to comprehend and master the facts before relating them to the audience. Othman said participation of the students in such competition is a good process of producing young preachers in Sabah.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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