SHAH ALAM: The Selangor government will begin incorporating a Quran-based science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) curriculum in religious schools managed by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) this year.

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said the initiative would kick off with training for teachers and an evaluation of suitable modules to ensure the success of this Quran-centric knowledge empowerment agenda.

“We aim to start with 23 religious secondary schools under JAIS this year. We will begin by training the teachers and assessing the impact and effectiveness of the approach.

“If we observe positive outcomes, we will enhance the programme and recommend that religious teachers integrate STEM elements into their teachings to further improve STEM education for students.”

He told reporters this after officiating the Restu International Quran Art Festival 2025 closing ceremony and launching the Quran-based STEM programme here today.

Amirudin said further discussions would be held with the Education Ministry to integrate the Quran-based STEM syllabus into the teaching curriculum of the schools, ultimately improving existing programmes under the state government’s management.

“In Selangor, we also have five Maahad Integrasi Tahfiz Sains dan Teknologi Selangor (MITS). This initiative is in line with our previous announcement to cultivate Hafiz al-Quran who are also skilled in STEM fields,” he said.

Today’s event also saw the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Yayasan Restu and Al-Kauthar Eduqids for the 1 Million Quran Endowment Project, aimed at distributing the Quran worldwide, especially to areas in need such as minority Muslim communities, tahfiz centres and Islamic educational institutions.