Leadership Elements in Private Tahfiz Educational Governance Framework: An Interpretive Inquiry of Regulators and Operators

Abstract

The emergence of Islamic education, especially tahfiz schools in Malaysia, is an alternative to the national-based education system that envisions creating a better Muslim generation to fulfill the role of viceregency on earth. However, the concern is that the mushrooming of these religious schools, especially tahfiz schools, may compromise the quality of education and may hinder the objective of providing future leaders. As such, this study examined leadership elements as part of the shariah governance framework of tahfiz schools in Malaysia to help in understanding the emphasis on such elements by tahfiz regulators and operators. The respondents from the state Islamic religious council (SIRC) and tahfiz schools in Selangor, Johor, Melaka, and Perak were interviewed, and the data were analyzed using Atlas.ti by focusing on the quotations made by both parties. The results showed that the leadership element is being emphasized by the regulator and operator of tahfiz schools in Malaysia, where the sub-element of roles and responsibilities was among the highest numbers quoted by the regulator and implementation was the highest quotation by the tahfiz operator. This indicates that good leadership elements are being emphasized and practiced by both regulators and operators of tahfiz schools in Malaysia.