Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announces a new training programme to equip students at religious and pondok schools with vital IT and digital skills.
BUKIT MERTAJAM: The government will launch a training programme to provide early exposure to information and digital technology at all religious schools, including traditional pondok institutions.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the move follows discussions with teachers and syeikhs who agreed to introduce modern skills as an addition to their existing learning systems.
He emphasised the effort is not aimed at changing the traditional curriculum, or manhaj tarbiah, adopted by such institutions. “We are making changes by providing large-scale assistance to strengthen and empower the education system, including the pondok education system,” Anwar said.
He explained the goal is to add new skills components that are important in today’s world. “I suggested some additions, such as Malay language teachers, history teachers and also IT, because everyone is talking about IT,” he stated.
Anwar highlighted the urgency of ensuring hundreds of thousands of students are not left behind. “We have 300,000 to 400,000 children in religious and Arabic schools who cannot be left behind,” he said at the opening of the Mengkuang Titi Mosque and Nuzul Quran celebration.
The prime minister also launched the Islamic Educational Institution Digital Transformation Initiative at the same event. It will be implemented through a strategic collaboration between the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation and the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia.
The initiative aims to empower these institutions through digital skills development and exposure to future technologies. This aligns with Malaysia’s national aspiration of becoming an Artificial Intelligence Nation by 2030.
Earlier, the event began with a tadarus al-Quran ceremony involving about 300 youths. The Rakan Masjid X Rakan Muda Ramadan Programme is a collaboration between JAKIM and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
Also present were Penang Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Mohamad Abdul Hamid and Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Dr Zulkifli Hasan and Youth and Sports Minister Dr Mohammed Taufiq Johari were also in attendance.
