Balancing Faith and Skills: A Multi-Stakeholder Study of Tahfiz-Tvet Readiness in Kedah, Malaysia

This article examines how technical and vocational education and training (TVET) can be integrated into tahfiz-(memorization of Quran) based Islamic education without weakening the religious mission that gives such institutions their legitimacy. Drawing on a documentary case study of two Kedah Tahfiz-TVET research reports prepared in 2026, the article synthesises aggregate descriptive survey evidence and focus group discussion (FGD) thematic evidence from key stakeholders, namely asatizah or teachers, huffaz or students, parents or guardians, and relevant policy and implementation agencies. The survey report indicates favourable stakeholder orientation, with reported overall agreement of 80.3% among asatizah, 79.7% among huffaz or students, 78.1% among parents or guardians, and 79.2% across all reported responses. The FGD report, however, shows that acceptance is conditional rather than unconditional: stakeholders support Tahfiz-TVET when it is understood as a value-adding reform that protects hafazan (memorization of Quranic verses) and murajaah (reviewing memorized portions of the Quran verses), preserves Islamic values and adab (manners), controls cost and safety risks, provides recognised certification, and is governed through phased, modular implementation. The article proposes a Conditional Legitimacy Framework for Value-Compatible Vocationalisation, arguing that vocational reform in faith-based schooling gains legitimacy through five interacting mechanisms: interpretive clarity, core-mission protection, capability-value gain, implementation trust, and governed modularisation. The article contributes to TVET, Islamic education, and educational change scholarship by shifting the analytical focus from simple acceptance to legitimacy formation in value-sensitive educational reform. It also offers policy implications for designing Tahfiz-TVET as a phased capability-expansion model rather than a disruptive curriculum insertion.

Tahfiz education; TVET; faith-based schooling; vocationalisation; stakeholder readiness; Islamic education; capability approach; Malaysia

1. Abelha, M., Fernandes, S., Mesquita, D., Seabra, F., & Ferreira-Oliveira, A. T. (2020). Graduate employability and competence development in higher education: A systematic literature review using PRISMA. Sustainability, 12(15), 5900. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12155900 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Bowen, G. A. (2009). Document analysis as a qualitative research method. Qualitative Research Journal, 9(2), 27-40. https://doi.org/10.3316/QRJ0902027 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Byrne, D. (2022). A worked example of Braun and Clarke's approach to reflexive thematic analysis. Quality & Quantity, 56, 1391-1412. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-021-01182-y [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Clarke, M. (2018). Rethinking graduate employability: The role of capital, individual attributes and context. Studies in Higher Education, 43(11), 1923-1937. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2017.1294152 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Fugate, M., Kinicki, A. J., & Ashforth, B. E. (2004). Employability: A psycho-social construct, its dimensions, and applications. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 65(1), 14-38. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2003.10.005 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Hamzah, N. H., Ali, N. A., Kamri, N. A., Mohd Yusoff, M. Y. Z., & Abdul Rahman, N. N. (2024). Empowering tahfiz education in Malaysia: Insights into the external factors driving parental preferences. Asia Pacific Journal of Educators and Education, 39(2), 5-37. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. https://doi.org/10.21315/apjee2024.39.2.2 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia. (2021). Dasar Pendidikan Tahfiz Negara. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. https://www.islam.gov.my/ms/e-penerbitan/2858-dasar-pendidikan-tahfiz-negara [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Kedah Tahfiz-TVET Research Team. (2026a). Laporan Kajian Kualitatif Focus Group Discussion (FGD): Kefahaman, penerimaan dan model pelaksanaan Tahfiz-TVET di Negeri Kedah. Unpublished policy report prepared for the Kedah State Government. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Kedah Tahfiz-TVET Research Team. (2026b). Laporan Dapatan Kajian Soal Selidik: Kajian Tahfiz TVET di Negeri Kedah. Unpublished policy report prepared for the Kedah State Government. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Kementerian Pendidikan Tinggi. (2024). Pelancaran Dasar TVET Negara 2030, selaras dasar dan akta sedia ada perkasa bidang TVET kebangsaan. https://www.mohe.gov.my/hebahan/sorotan-aktiviti/pelancaran-dasar-tvet-negara-2030-selaras-dasar-dan-akta-sedia-ada-perkasa-bidang-tvet-kebangsaan [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Majlis TVET Negara. (2024). Dasar TVET Negara 2030. Sekretariat Majlis TVET Negara. https://www.tvet.gov.my/manual/MTVET_DASAR_TVET_NEGARA_2030.pdf [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. McGrath, S., & Powell, L. (2016). Skills for sustainable development: Transforming vocational education and training beyond 2015. International Journal of Educational Development, 50, 12-19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2016.05.006 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. McGrath, S., & Yamada, S. (2023). Skills for development and vocational education and training: Current and emergent trends. International Journal of Educational Development, 102, 102853. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2023.102853 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. MyGOV. (2026). Kenali TVET. Portal Rasmi Kerajaan Malaysia. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. https://www.malaysia.gov.my/topics/kenali-tvet [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Norsalim, P. M. N., Akbarruddin, M. N. A., Basir, N. S. A., Muda, W. H. N. W., & Jeinie, M. H. (2021). Challenges in establishing vocational skills in tahfiz curriculum at Malaysian Tahfiz Centre. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(16), 53-62. https://doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v11-i16/11217 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Nussbaum, M. C. (2011). Creating capabilities: The human development approach. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674061200 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of innovations (5th ed.). Free Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Sen, A. (1999). Development as freedom. Alfred A. Knopf. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. Succi, C., & Canovi, M. (2020). Soft skills to enhance graduate employability: Comparing students and employers' perceptions. Studies in Higher Education, 45(9), 1834-1847. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2019.1585420 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. Thornton, P. H., Ocasio, W., & Lounsbury, M. (2012). The institutional logics perspective: A new approach to culture, structure, and process. Oxford University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. Tong, A., Sainsbury, P., & Craig, J. (2007). Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ): A 32-item checklist for interviews and focus groups. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 19(6), 349-357. https://doi.org/10.1093/intqhc/mzm042 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. Tomlinson, M. (2017). Forms of graduate capital and their relationship to graduate employability. Education + Training, 59(4), 338-352. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-05-2016-0090 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

30. TVET MADANI. (2025). TVET Tahfiz bentuk pelajar huffaz berkemahiran tinggi. https://www.tvet.gov.my/awam-berita/beritapenuh?id=910 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

31. UNESCO. (2015). Recommendation concerning technical and vocational education and training (TVET). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

32. https://www.unesco.org/en/legal-affairs/recommendation-concerning-technical-and-vocational-education-and-training-tvet [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

33. UNESCO. (2022). Transforming technical and vocational education and training for successful and just transitions: UNESCO strategy 2022-2029. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000383360 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

34. World Bank, UNESCO, & International Labour Organization. (2023). Building better formal TVET systems: Principles and practice in low- and middle-income countries. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

35. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/2565f33a-ce32-44e7-b667-7374c3ae2db4 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

36. Yin, R. K. (2018). Case study research and applications: Design and methods (6th ed.). SAGE. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Assessment of the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Repositioning TVET for Economic Development in Nigeria
• Teachers’ Use of Assure Model Instructional Design on Learners’ Problem Solving Efficacy in Secondary Schools in Bungoma County, Kenya
• “E-Booksan Ang Kaalaman”: Development, Validation, and Utilization of Electronic Book in Academic Performance of Grade 9 Students in Social Studies
• Analyzing EFL University Students’ Academic Speaking Skills Through Self-Recorded Video Presentation
• Major Findings of The Study on Total Quality Management in Teachers’ Education Institutions (TEIs) In Assam – An Evaluative Study