| Wani Roslan |
THE Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs, Dato Seri Paduka Awang Haji Abdul Mokti bin Haji Mohd Daud, made an official visit to Hassanal Bolkiah Arabic Boys Secondary School (SMALHB) yesterday. Joining the deputy minister was Haji Mohd Serudin bin Haji Timbang, the Acting Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA).
The deputy minister was welcomed by Ustazah Hajah Sarimah binti Haji Ahmad, Principal of SMALHB; Ustazah Hajijah binti Haji Moktal, Acting Director of the Islamic Studies Department (JPI); senior officials from the JPI; and teachers and staff of SMALHB. During his visit, the deputy minister stopped by several of the school’s Pre-University 1 (Pra U1) classrooms and interacted with the students.
Ustazah Hajijah said that learning for the school’s pre-university students is different now, with the school currently using a system that is successfully producing scholars and experts in both religious and general fields.
“In this school, the MoRA is preparing the students to be scholars to realise the country’s vision of producing an educated and highly skilled people, and the school has produced scholars and experts that have contributed to the country by serving in government agencies, not only in the MoRA but also in other ministries,” she said.
She urged parents who have sent their children to Arabic schools to put their trust in the MoRA, which has implemented a learning system in the schools based on both Brunei Darussalam’s National Education System for the 21st Century (SPN21) and the Ma’had Bu’uths Al-Islamiah Al-Azhariah from Egypt.
“With the combination of both education systems, we can produce excellent students in duniawi and ukhrawi, and be able to educate them to be scholars who can contribute to the development of Islamic Syiar in the country in any fields,” she added.
The education system at SMALHB is divided into two different streams: religious and general.
Among the subjects under the religious stream include Syariah, Usuluddin and Arabic Language.
The general stream is divided into two groups. The first group is for students who are taking both religious and general subjects, and will be sitting for the Brunei Religious Education Higher Certificate (STPUB) and GCE ‘A’ Level examinations.
The second group is for students who are taking general subjects and also learning Al-Quran, Arabic Language, Fiqh Islam, Tauhid and Amali.
Last year, the school achieved 96.8 per cent passes in the STPUB and 100 per cent passes in the Brunei-Cambridge GCE ‘A’ Level exams.
The school has 74 teaching staff; 326 Pra U1 students comprising 166 who are taking Syariah, 72 taking Usuluddin, 25 taking Arabic Language, 41 taking General I, and 22 taking General II; and 307 Pra U2 students.
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