PARENT Action Group for Education (PAGE) has urged the government to form a Royal Commission of Inquiry or an independent task force to investigate the death of 11-year-old Mohamad Thaqif Amin Mohd Gadaffi yesterday.

The parents group also wants a thorough assessment of the teachers, their teaching qualifications and skills, quality of staff, curriculum, co-curriculum, the students’ living conditions, safety standards, religious leanings and sources of funding of the Madrasah Tahfiz Al Jauhar in Kota Tinggi, Johor.

PAGE chairman Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said the government should also extend its reach to state religious departments where such private thafiz schools were registered before they opened.

“We would like to know the extent of its scope of responsibility.

“Every tahfiz school should then undergo a similar assessment as recommended until a level of satisfaction is achieved or cease operations,” she said.

Azimah said she was appalled that the beating of students by teachers and staff or other students appeared now to be the norm in some schools.

“Authorities have to be pro-active. It is always a death that will shake the authorities into action.”

Azimah said the education ministry had also a duty to check abuse of children in its schools.

“It is unfortunate that the untimely death of Thaqif has to serve as a lesson to all.”

Azimah was quoted by The Malaysian Insight yesterday calling for a full review of tahfiz schools in the country following the death of Thaqif.

“How do we know that the students or teachers aren’t leaning towards extremism? We have so many IS sympathisers in this country. Where did it start?”

Thaqif was allegedly abused and tortured by the assistant school warden who whipped him on his legs with a water hose until they turned black and blue.

The legs became infected and the infection later spread to the kidneys and his shoulder.

Thaqif’s legs were amputated at Sultan Ismail Hospital, Johor Baru. He was scheduled to undergo more surgery yesterday morning but it was postponed because of his weak heart condition.

Thaqif began school at Madrasah Tahfiz Al Jauhar on January 27, and his mother, Felda Wani Ahmad, 40, took him out of school on March 31 after he complainedabout being beaten in school.

The assistant warden has since been remanded by police and is being investigated for murder. – April 27, 2017.