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Technical and Vocational Education and Training for Tahfiz students
Published on: Wednesday, September 20, 2023
By: Mohd Izham Bin Hashim
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Mustapha pointed statistics show that not all Tahfiz students will become qualified Hafiz or Hafizah. In fact, he said approximately 80pc of them struggle to memorise the entire Quran.
“There has been some progress, but we want it to be restructured,” he noted, urging relevant departments and the State government to get behind the programme to encourage Tahfiz institutions to get their students enrolled for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programmes.
He said the Ministry started discussions on measures to widen the reach of TVET programmes to Tahfiz institutions.
Mustapha pointed statistics show that not all Tahfiz students will become qualified Hafiz or Hafizah. In fact, he said approximately 80pc of them struggle to memorise the entire Quran.
“To prevent these students from being left behind, we aim to incorporate them into TVET skills training and education” he told reporters after officiating the Wacana Malaysia Madani programme at the Menara Tun Mustapha on Sept 9.
According to Mustapha, the Ministry’s TVET Tahfiz programme, implemented in 2018, is ongoing and being expanded. Relating his visit on similar programmes initiated in Kedah and Johor, he noted Tahfiz students were equipped with skills to do electrical rewiring and trained as draftsmen.
“What matters is the younger generation is not left behind in the wave of progress,” he added.
During his opening address, Mustapha stressed concerns over the trend of SPM graduates choosing not to pursue higher education is also being felt in Sabah, which currently has the highest rate of unemployment in the country, involving 169,800 individuals or encompassing 29 per cent of 588,700 unemployed nationwide for the first quarter of 2023.
In 2021, national statistics acquired from the ePKM (eProfile Student Career) system showed 48.74 per cent (180,680) of SPM graduates discontinued pursuing higher education.
“What is even more alarming is the data remains critical during and Post -Covid-19 pandemic.
How can Malaysia achieve high income status if its youths are left behind from pursuing post SPM education? Without proper skills and qualification, they will ultimately fail to prepare themselves for the needs of High Growth High Value (HGHV) Industries,” he said.
By virtue of its strategic location, Mustapha said Sabah remains an attractive destination for foreign investors for high-impact industrial activities.
“It is time for the people of Sabah to equip themselves with knowledge, technology and the necessary skills relevant to the challenges of the present and the future,” he said.
To ensure Malaysian talents, especially in Sabah to benefit from the economic spinoffs from the relocation of the Indonesian capital city from Jakarta to Indonesia, Mustapha said the Madani Malaysian government has provided more opportunities to acquire reskilling and upskilling training, with the Human Resource Development Berhad (HRDC) and Perkeso was given the task to manage various skills training programmes with the injection of funds from the government under the Madani Budget 2023.
Mustapha noted efforts are paving the way forward to create a holistic education ecosystem, starting from schools and continuing up to tertiary levels.
The National Ministry of Human Resources is rebranding its initiatives as MyPekerjaHarapan (MYPH) and refining them at the Ministry stage to ensure that the next generation of skilled workers is future-proof.
Furthermore, he said measures to enhance the TVET Tahfiz aimed at producing Madani technocrats are being expedited through joint cooperation between Tahfiz institutions and the Department of Skills Development.
Mustapha said the Ministry is also studying the establishment of the Ulul Albab Industrial Training Institute (ILP) as a specialised institution centre for Hafiz and Hafizah in the country.
