The Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) is introducing measures to prevent sexual misconduct in religious schools across the state. The department is formulating new guidelines that include enhanced teacher screening and stricter rules on student-teacher interactions, JAIS director Datuk Mohd Shahzihan Ahmad said today after a state event for students heading to the Middle East for studies [1, 2, 3, 4].
Among the proposals is requiring all religious school teachers to obtain police clearance before employment. "There is a possibility that we will require all teachers to obtain a police clearance. There needs to be security screening, and we will discuss with the police how to implement the screening," Datuk Mohd Shahzihan said [1]. He added the department is in active discussions with the School Registration Committee to ensure proper implementation of these recruitment and screening guidelines [1, 2, 3, 4].
JAIS also plans to set clear rules restricting student-teacher interaction, aiming to reduce opportunities for misconduct. The guidelines will include stricter segregation of students and teachers and prohibit meetings or memorisation sessions during unsupervised or unusual hours. "Teachers, administrators and other students must not do anything that should be avoided, such as giving special treatment or meeting at unusual hours. They should not hold meetings or memorisation sessions at quiet times or when there is no supervision," the director said [1].
This new focus on security and conduct follows a recent investigation by the state government into allegations of sexual assault by a religious school teacher against a student. The case has been handed over to police for further investigation [1, 2, 3, 4].
The department's efforts aim to strengthen protections around religious schooling ahead of the new academic term. Discussions on formalising these measures are ongoing with relevant education authorities.
