Waqf Higher Education in Malaysia

Abstract

Abstract. The cost of higher education has been increased, despite intervention from the government in the form of grants and soft-loans. In general, parents and students alike face the burden of ever increasing fees to enroll in higher education learning institutions while the education institutions themselves also face increasing costs to operate and provide quality education. Realizing the possible forthcoming scenarios in the current education industry, scholars and researchers have made proposals to apply the concept of waqf for education development to ensure a more affordable and sustainable education industry in the country. Waqf in Malaysia is one of the largest financial sources that have not been fully explored. By using qualitative analysis this paper focusing on the scenario of waqf in supporting education in Malaysia, especially in Higher Education Institution (HEI). Subsequently, this study attempts to examine how waqf fund is used in empowering higher education apart from looking into the efforts of the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) to make this achievable. In short, this study found that taking the que from the institutions of waqf, the exploration and development of waqf fund can be accomplished through the formation of formal organizations at the state and federal level and rearrange the Malaysian educational budget and policy to support the good quality of HEI. Thus, the paper makes some suggestions as to the potential effort of waqf for higher education must be played by the Ministry of Higher Education.

Sustainable Issues in Building Operations and Maintenance of Religious Schools in Malaysia

“…Later in the early 20th century, the concept of Madrasah or Arabic School was initiated to develop a more systematic knowledge delivery system in religious studies. The Madrasah offers religious education with a systematic form of education facilitates to the graduates to pursue their studies to the higher level especially in al-Azhar University, Egypt [23]. Basically, the establishment of these schools has significantly contributed to the development of Muslim society as the graduates are normally academically, religiously, and ethically excellent.…”

“…Basically, the establishment of these schools has significantly contributed to the development of Muslim society as the graduates are normally academically, religiously, and ethically excellent. These graduates will normally give back to society by involving themselves in educating people about religious awareness to the public [19], [23], [25], [26]. In Johor, Islamic Religious School practice starting in 1918 with the name of the Quranic School, solely for the study of the Al-Quran.…”

“…These barriers are finance, information, specialist, administration, and marketing. Meanwhile, [23] Azha. L. later concluded that there are three (3) main factors that strongly influence the management aspects of waqf educational property management in Malaysia; namely specialist, administration and marketing.…”

“…It has many levels of management and every business needs to undergo every level of management. It costs a long period of time to settle one matter/business [23]. Other issues include the legal aspect where all the state has different Act and Enactment [63], [64].…”

“…The people are not aware that the waqf possesses big potentials in socio-economic, agricultural and other developments. To date, the waqf has only been seen for the interest of mosque and cemetery, whereas the waqf concept is very wide and can be applied in various sectors [23]. The updated and continuous information about the benefits of waqf needs to be disseminated to the public.…”