MIRI – A civil society group called The Sarawak Initiatives (TSI) has called on the government not to include Islamic studies as a compulsory subject in international schools being established in this state.
TSI said it should not be mandatory for any school in Sarawak to enforce religious studies on all students. It can instead be held on an extracurricular basis, subject to parents’ approval.
“We welcome the setting up of Yayasan Sarawak International School in Kuching (opened last month) and other parts of the state (coming up later in Miri, Bintulu and Sibu).
“It is a good move that will give local students in Sarawak exposure on international subjects, with English as the key focus.
“However, we in TSI urge the state government not to include religious studies as a compulsory subject for all students.
“Religious studies should be an extracurricular activity, not a mandatory subject.
“Religious studies as extracurricular lessons should be agreed by students and their parents first,” TSI said in a statement.
The Yayasan Sarawak International School in state capital Kuching started operating last month, with an initial enrolment of about 120 students.
The issue of religious subjects being “forced upon” all students was raised recently.
Instead of Jawi, focus on ‘urgent’ subjects: Parti Bangsa Dayak Sarawak Baru
On May 12, the main opposition Dayak party in Sarawak publicly said it will protest any move to include Jawi lessons as part of mandatory school subjects.
Parti Bangsa Dayak Sarawak Baru issued a statement saying it is rejecting any impending attempt by the Education Ministry (MoE) to add Jawi lessons as compulsory for all students.
Party president Bobby William had said the party feels that it is not right to force all students to learn Jawi. He also pointed out that it is not necessary for non-Muslim students to have to learn Jawi.
“We in the party oppose any move by MoE to make Jawi a part of compulsory learning for all students in schools.
“We feel that any intention to include Jawi as compulsory teaching in schools will not benefit every race,” he said, adding that it would be acceptable for the subject to be optional.
“Give the students a choice on whether they want to learn Jawi. MoE must not compel every student to take up Jawi.
“There are more urgent subjects to learn,” he had said, citing English, mathematics and science subjects as among them.
He pointed out that the quality and performance of students in these vital subjects have declined to worryingly low levels.
“MoE must focus on how to get students to improve in these subjects. That is more urgent,” he said. – The Vibes, May 28, 2022
