SHAH ALAM, 29 JAN: The State Government will endeavour to raise the dignity and to overcome the problem of Fardhu Ain Class (Kafa) teachers and the People’s Religious Schools (SAR – Sekolah Agama Rakyat) in efforts to make Selangor a scholarly and educational hub.
Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Khalid said that problems such as poor school infrastructure, salary, position stability, pension and allowances of Kafa teachers and SAR will continue to be addressed by the State Government.
Abdul Khalid said that the problems faced by SAR is due to the Umno-BN administration era where these religious schools were built without careful planning.
Therefore, the State Government needs time to figure out the best way to overcome the problem of poor infrastructure, said Abdul Khalid.
“To curb this problem, I have directed every housing development to prepare a plan that has a site for schools, suraus and mosques so that this matter will be given attention right from the beginning,” he said.
Abdul Khalid said this in his speech at the Selangor Religious Schools Principal’s Assembly at the Selangor Youth Complex here today.
Also present was the Education, Higher Education and Human Capital Development Exco, Dr Halimah Ali, the Selangor Islamic Religious Department Director Datuk Marzuki Husin, and almost 4,000 Kafa teachers from across Selangor.
Abdul Khalid also said that several early initiatives have been undertaken by the State Government such as to raise the allowance of Kafa teachers from RM700 to RM1,000 per month, which has benefited nearly 6,000 Kafa teachers across Selangor.
In a question and answer session with the Kafa teachers, Abdul Khalid said that the State Government is currently discussing with Jais so that all Kafa teachers with permanent positions will be absorbed into permanent positions.
“The Government will continue to conduct discussions with the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) and several other parties such as the religious teachers association, so that not even one Kafa teacher will hold a temporary position in the future,” he said.
However, facilities after retirement such as a pension fund cannot be provided because Kafa teachers are civil servants.
“We encourage Kafa teachers to look for other alternatives such as contributing to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) so as to not face problems later on,” he said.
In reply to questions about the additional pay increment for Kafa teachers, Abdul Khalid explained that the State Government is emphasising revenue per household instead of individuals to be used as a measure for the poverty level.
He said that the State Government has set the poverty line at less than RM3,500 per month per household.
“For that, we will provide specific skills training courses so that they can improve their skills and increase the standard of living,” he said.
