Apart from a packed examination schedule and a huge amount of homework, Malaysian schoolchildren also have their timetable filled with subjects which are perhaps not as crucial.
Twitter user Rejaie Arbee recently shared his daughter’s school timetable on the social media platform.
Along the image, he writes, “Daughter goes to a new school since we moved. Wow. There is 5.5 hours per week for religious studies (or related) in total.”
“That’s the same as English, and MORE than Maths and Science which are at 2.5 hours and 1.5 hours respectively. This is NOT sekolah agama ya. This is Sekolah Kebangsaan.”
He explained that that’s with Jawi and Arabic lessons lumped together.
“Arabic and Jawi should be elective. And Islamic studies shouldn’t be separated into so many subjects like that. Especially when non Muslims only have ONE subject during those periods,” he added.
“Why is Arabic needed? Are we Arabs or Malays? Do you think that if you speak Arabic, they would see you as an equal?”
His tweet caused debate between netizens
Rejaie’s tweet has amassed plenty of attention and netizens took to the comments section to share their thoughts. Some agreed with what he was suggesting and believe that it is pointless to have religious related subjects in national schools.
One user commented, “Religious subjects should not be in national schools. If you want to learn about religion then go to a religious school.”
“Standard 1 students should be focused on the 3Ms (reading, writing and counting) and STEM subjects. Languages and linguistic skills are important but we already have Bahasa Malaysia and English. That’s sufficient,” said another user.
“Do you hear people speaking Arabic when you go outside of your house?”
Some stressed on the importance of religious studies
On the other hand, some netizens stressed on the importance of religious studies and Arabic on the basis of being able to read the Quran.
“Actually I think that Islamic studies should be taught even more as it has a lot of topics. So it is reasonable to teach them to be good Muslims. That is the reason why we send them to school right?”
“Arabic is a common subject. If your child were to enter the oil and gas field it would be great to have basic Arabic,” said another user.
Another user claimed that most students don’t even care that there are a lot of religious studies classes in their timetable as it includes plenty of topics.
“What is the use of birthing an intelligent generation without religion?”
“This is even more important nowadays as students are more ruder, watch inappropriate videos, don’t take care of their decency, get into relationships often, dance on TikTok, wear tight clothes. If there is no Islamic studies, I can guarantee that the situation would be worse,” commented another user.
What do you think? Are religious related subjects important? Let us know in the comments.
Also read: High Court: Chinese & Tamil Schools To Stay Put, They Don’t Infringe Rights of Any Person
