BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

RELIGIOUS teachers in Brunei are urged to use creative ways and modern technology when teaching Quran in order to enhance the students' willingness to read more, said an education officer from the Ministry of Religious Affairs’ Islamic Studies Department (JPI).

Pg Moksabah Pg Hj Ahmad, JPI School Inspectorate in Islamic Religious Knowledge (IRK) Subject Division, said religious teachers should be more proactive in classroom interaction to pull the students’ full attention during Quran classes.

“There are religious teachers who use slideshow presentation during the Quran reading classes. When the students are reading certain surah (chapter), simple visual images can enhance the students’ willingness to read more,” she said, hoping that such practice could be emulated by other teachers.

Speaking with The Brunei Times, Pg Moksabah said that getting students to be interested in reading the Quran has been a challenge over the years.

This year, JPI continues its Al-Quran Celik (Literacy Al-Quran) programme as an effort to attract more students in secondary level to read the Quran.

The programme, which was first set up in 2010, replaces the PE (Physical Exercise) subject with Quran classes for the month of Ramadhan with the aim to strengthen the students’ religious integrity and beliefs.

The programme only applies to government schools.

“Since there would be no PE subject in secondary schools during the whole fasting month, the programme is held to prevent the Muslim students from wasting their time doing nothing and also to make sure our Muslim students will read the Quran during the fasting month,” she added.

Encouraging students’ participant in group Al-Quran recitation in melody singing is another method to attract students’ interest, said Pg Moksabah.

“It's okay to add a little bit of entertainment in the classroom, but not too much. Young people like to be engaged. So when they are asked to recite the Quran in a group, they will become more focused on what they read.”

She added that allowing students to go in front of the class to recite the Quran while others listen could also enhance the students’ confidence in public interaction.

Pg Moksabah further called on religious teachers to explain the meaning of the verses of what they recite in class. “Since the pupils are in secondary level, I think it's appropriate to recite the Quran along with its translation. No matter it's in English or Malay language, translation materials can help the students to understand the real content of the Quran,” she said.

Meanwhile, teachers from religious schools are appointed to teach Quran to students in secondary schools under the Al-Quran Celik programme, as there are no classes from Darjah 1 until Darjah 3 throughout the Ramadhan month.

The programme would allow teachers at primary religious schools to make use of their spare time teaching Quran recitation during Ramadhan, said Pg Moksabah.

For non-Muslim students, she said, they will have the option to join the Quran classes or visit the school library during the fasting month.

“There are also a number of non-Muslim students attended the Quran classes to learn more about Islam,” she added.

According to Pg Moksabah. there has been some improvement and development among students after taking part in the Al-Quran Celik programme in recent years. 

“Although the Quran class is only a short period of time, there has been a rise in awareness among our students on Quran reading. Some senior students who are doing their A-Level exams and studying overseas adopted the habit,” she added.

In addition, she said, there has been an increase of students visiting the mosques to seek guidance on how to improve their reading skills from other Quran teachers who teach every Fridays and Sundays.

The Brunei Times