‘Even Brunei schools spend more time for Science than religious subjects’

Dr Mahathir Mohamad recently said that national schools are turning out to be more like religious schools. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: An educational pressure group has agreed with Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s observation that there is too much emphasis on religious studies in the national schools.

Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE) said even Brunei, a state with strong Islamic symbolism, allocates more school time for Science subjects compared to religious subjects.

PAGE secretary Tunku Munawirah Putra said subjects on Islam constitute between 4% and 9% in Brunei, while in Malaysia, they constitute between 9% and 15%.

Giving a breakdown, Tunku Munawirah said Islamic studies take up 7% of the primary curriculum in Brunei, 9% at lower secondary and 4% at upper secondary.

“They spend more time studying Science than Islamic Studies at every level as Science is a core subject and Islamic studies are compulsory,” she told FMT.

On Friday, Mahathir said the government would revise the curriculum in national schools as they had become “religious schools”, with students performing poorly in subjects that could be useful for them in seeking jobs.

“They are all learning about religion and not learning anything else. They make good ulama. When you have too many ulama, they differ from each other and mislead their followers and quarrel with each other,” the prime minister said.

“We will still study religion but not during all the periods in a day; maybe just one or two periods.”

Tunku Munawirah said for the lower secondary level in Brunei, 13% of the time is spent on English, Malay, Science, and Mathematics, and 9% on Islamic studies.

In Malaysia’s lower secondary, 13% is allocated for Malay language, 10% each for English, Science and Mathematics, and 11% for Islamic Studies, she said.

Brunei’s curriculum is divided into two categories. They are core subjects including Science and Mathematics which are taught in English, and compulsory subjects such as Islamic studies, Arts and Culture, Physical Education and Technology.

Tunku Munawirah said the education ministry should redistribute the learning hours for core subjects.

“Perhaps if the parents would like to have more hours in religious education, it can be done after school hours and the school could offer it as elective subjects,” she added. - FMT