Zakri Hassan (PN-Kangar) has urged the government to build more religious schools to meet growing demand from parents, saying these schools often perform better than secular schools run by the education ministry.
He said many parents were now sending their children to Islamic schools for their academic results and holistic teaching but that entry rules favoured high-performing pupils, leaving weaker students with fewer options.
Zakri said this had led to poorly performing students being transferred to secular schools.
“Parents have realised that the curriculum of religious school greatly helps in students’ development,” he told the Dewan Rakyat in debating the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP). He however did not provide any data to back up his claim.
Zakri said underperforming students were concentrated in primary and secondary schools, while…