Al-Ikhlas School & Centre
Al-Ikhlas School is a pre-school and primary level UNHCR-registered learning centre for Rohingya and Myanmar children. The learning centre (referred to as a ‘school’ from here onwards) is located on the 1st and 2nd floors of a shop-house in the Taman Sri Murni, Batu Caves area of Kuala Lumpur. The children are mainly those of the refugee families who live in the flats surrounding the school. Al-Ikhlas School was founded by Ustaz Arfat Ganumia who established it in August 2015, at the beginning focusing on Islamic education. The school's operations were expanded soon after, through Ustaz’s efforts to bring in new teachers and connecting with members of the public as well as UNHCR.
Our Background
Lessons & Activities
The school now runs two sessions, namely an academic session in the mornings (9.00am-1.00pm), which is attended by 150+ children aged between 7-14, and a Madrasah session in the evenings from 5.30-7.30pm which is attended also by about 150 children (most of whom attend the morning sessions too).
For the morning session, apart from Ustaz, there are currently seven permanent teachers, who are largely also from the refugee, giving them a chance to earn and develop themselves while here (i.e. Myanmar and Pakistan). Subjects taught are English, Maths and Science. The school also conducts additional classes to equip the students with lifeskills such as food preparation / cooking, IT and entrepreneurial projects. In the evening Madrasah session, Ustaz Arfat and 4 other Ustazs teach the students Al-Quran reading at different levels (from Iqra’ to Hafazan) as well as the fundamentals of Islam, e.g. Akidah, Seerah and Fiqh.
Apart from the schools’ internal programmes, the students are also blessed to have external groups (e.g. CSR departments of companies, university students, international schools) who offer other enrichment programmes such as netball coaching, nature-outings, theatre trips as well as English conversational workshops, giving the chance for these refugee children and community to be exposed to events and activities they would not have had an opportunity to partake as refugee child.
Al-Ikhlas School Team
