This type of school is very scarce in Malaysia. We do have sekolah menengah agama and some of them are fully residential but the syllabus on the religious subjects is limited. I have not come across any government secondary schools that offer both tahfiz and academic. MARA has set up one in Terengganu called MRSM Agama which offers similar subjects like MTS. The difference between the two is of course the facilities. They have everything unlike MTS which has only the basic. Selangor, under the new government has set up 3 similar schools called Maahad Integrasi Tahfiz Sains & Teknologi in Kg Jawa, Juru and Puncak Alam. The demand for this type of school keeps increasing that it becomes difficult and challenging to send your kids to study in these type of school. Of course there are many small private tahfiz establishments but you might have second thoughts in sending your kids there. Although MTS is offered to “anak Kelantan”, orang luar masih berpeluang menghantar anak mereka. Kuota pengambilan orang luar mungkin dalam 10%. We were lucky because Dini’s Abah is a true kelantanese.
My hope is for the government to treat the state schools equally regardless if the state is ruled by the opposition. As Malaysian, we all pay taxes and we deserve to be given the same treatment. The kids shouldn’t be penalised for wanting to pursue their studies in these schools. I sincerely hope the students and the teachers will continue to strive to achieve its vision of “Menjana para huffaz yang berketerampilan dalam semua bidang menjelang 2010” regardless of any obstacles. InsyaAllah, ganjaran dari Allah swt menanti mereka yang berkorban memelihara Al-Quran.
If you are interested to send your kids to MTS, please obtain the application forms from MTS or YIK (RM5 per form) and submit to the school within 10 days after UPSR results are announced. Good Luck!
