THE ROLE OF ZAKAT IN IMPROVING EDUCATIONAL EQUITY OF MUSLIM URBAN POOR CHILDREN: THE MALAYSIA EXPERIENCE

Norfariza Mohd Radzi
Dr., Universiti of Malaya, MALAYSIA, norfariza@um.edu.my

Abstract

This article discusses the role of Zakat, the fund received from Muslim society in improving educational equity for the Muslim poor and needy children in urban area of Malaysia. The issue of equity in education is one of the main agenda in the Malaysian Education Development Plan (2013-2025), and is a global issue frequently discussed, especially in developing countries around the world. Government has been traditionally recognized for being the main financial provider for the education benefit of the children. Therefore, this research was carried out to find the strategies for Zakat distribution to the poor and needy Muslim children in urban area of Lembah Kelang, Malaysia to help them achieving equity in education. The methodology used in the research was qualitative study conducted through interview and document analysis with Lembaga Zakat Selangor and Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan, the formal organizing bodies for Zakat management in Selangor and Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya. The findings shows that Zakat has been distributed to improve the educational equity for the urban poor and needy Muslim children by providing education input such as tuition fees, books, stationeries, school uniforms and many more. As a results, most children experienced improvement in their academic performance, reduce the drop-out rates and further increase the academic survival rates of children at both the primary and secondary level of schooling, It is also suggested for the Zakat management bodies to look into additional forms of assistance that can enhance the learning process of those student including the provision of extra tuition class, motivation courses and so on.  Overall, this study has highlighted the role of Zakat institution to help government in handling the issue of educational equity particularly for the Muslim poor children in main urban area in Malaysia. As an implication, this study has upgrade the level of Zakat institution to assist government in achieving the education policy and further provide the Muslim urban children with better academic opportunity in future.

Keywords: Zakat, equity, education, poor, children


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CITATION: Abstracts & Proceedings of INTCESS 2017 - 4th International Conference on Education and Social Sciences, 6-8 February 2017- Istanbul, Turkey

ISBN: 978-605-64453-9-2