Things You Need To Know About Private Islamic Preschools in Malaysia

by Hafizah Aziz . on 10/04/2019 10917

Based on Pew Research Center (2013) that definite being a multiconfessional country, Malaysia’s most professed religion is Islam with 19.5 million devotees making it 61.3% of this country's population. Competing with the standard teaching methodologies such as Montessori, Reggio Emilia, Waldorf, Thematic, Multiple Intelligence, private Islamic preschools in today’s era have come a long way to gain their place among the others. With its antecedents and present Muslim adherents, private Islamic preschools are coming to claim its limelight.

Acknowledging the importance of these Islamic institutions and the impact they could bring to our little ones; this article will highlight the essential things that the readers need to know about private Islamic preschools in Malaysia.

Islamic Preschools in Malaysia

After Malaysia gain its independence, the Islamic education system evolved far from informal Islamic learning taught in pondok during the colonized period to having a better structure as we have today. It is agreed even by the Western scholars that early childhood education is crucial as these years will provide lifelong benefits to the children’s growth. These early years are a gold mine opportunity for the parents and the teachers to not only mould the foundation and instill proper habits such as learning to recite Al-Quran and perform prayers five times a day but also important for these Muslimin children to attain self-identity and a sense of belonging from the beginning. Just like any other regular preschools, Islamic preschools in Malaysia seek to develop children physically, spiritually, socially, emotionally, and cognitively. From the conventional Pusat Asuhan Tunas Islam (PASTI) to the contemporary Islamic-English-Creative preschools, these institutions evolve together with today's world and towards Malaysia’s public needs.

Is it more than religion?

Moving on to the grey area, often the typical misconception that people assumed about Islamic preschools is that; these institutions based their teaching solely on religious education and nothing more. It is important to keep in mind, by taking the independent path, these private Islamic preschools re-equipped themselves and have become more creative in adapting the changes and current requests.

The truth is, Islamic preschools function just like any other regular and general preschools in Malaysia only with the added value of Islam. With the freedom of patterning their own syllabus while maintaining the standard of Malaysian’s Pre-School Curriculum, certain Islamic preschools would choose to separate their timetable of the must-learn subjects and culturing subjects with the Islamic subjects and values.

Islamic Preschools

However, to nurture the love for Islam and to teach devotion of oneself to The Creator and The Prophets, most of the Islamic preschools would opt in to effectively integrate all the elements together.

Islamic Preschools

If a secular preschool has its own core teaching methodology, an Islamic preschool also has one. The obligatory teaching method that Islamic preschools practice is all based on the true Sharia way of The Holy Al-Quran, The Prophets and the derived Hadiths. With the rise of integrated Islamic preschools in Malaysia, these brands differ from one another as they mix and match the regular teaching methodologies with the Islamic part. From the combination of Montessori-Islamic preschool or Waldorf-Islamic preschool, the choices vary endlessly. It’s hard to give the ultimate blueprint of how these schools work, but rest-assured with patience, there are preschools that fit accordingly to individual preferences and needs.

The selection of the teachers; The Murabbi, the Ustaz and the Ustazah

The main qualification in selecting educators in Islamic preschools is a substantial understanding in Islamic practice and good general worldwide knowledge. Ustaz or ustazah is especially important in teaching the correct Iqra’ and Quranic comprehension, avoiding the misleading practice. The Islamic-English-Creative centres usually make it compulsory for these teachers to have adequate capacity to use English as this shall be the medium of interaction between the murabbi (teacher) and the children. Personality wise, the teacher not only need to have interest and patience for teaching, but also compassion and love for children.

Islam can be contemporary for the kids – An Option or A Decision?

Modern Muslim parents might have varied opinions on sending their kids to Islamic preschools. The common concern is that this kind of preschools might only enhance one world rather than the other. Realizing the needs of today’s children to be competent in this ever-demanding era, private Islamic preschools have evolved and thrive their way not only to address but also to meet the parents’ expectations and desires. While the medium of teaching language might be different according to the institution's practice and its geographical areas, there is a lot of recognized and established private Islamic preschool choices in Kuala Lumpur and throughout Malaysia is using English instead of Malay language as the medium of teaching, learning, and instructions.

The first advantage of Islamic-English-Creative preschools like this is that the parents do not need to compromise between choosing one or another; the kids can be educated in using the lingua franca of the world and be creatively inspired without having to sacrifice their spiritual growth. The second advantage is since it is an integrated syllabus, the parents do not need to enrol the kids in extra classes for religious purposes. This does not only reduce the cost of children's early education, but could also save more time and energy as this is a one-stop centre. To be well-adjusted and advanced in this ever-changing contemporary world, Islamic preschools have a lot to offer to the Muslim community and are capable of bringing life-long learning experiences. Private Islamic preschools in Malaysia may lay down countless options and offer limitless benefits, however, it’s the parents that need to think this through thoroughly because outside the context and at the end of the day it’s them that have the ultimate power to decide what is best for their caliph's children.