Value-Compatible Vocationalisation in Faith-Based Schooling: Stakeholder Readiness for Tahfiz (Qur'anic Memorisation) Tvet in Kedah, Malaysia

Abstract

Purpose: This article examines how technical and vocational education and training (TVET), ICT, soft skills, entrepreneurship and career literacy can be integrated into tahfiz (Qur'anic memorisation)-based Islamic schooling without displacing the core religious mission of Qur'anic memorisation. Rather than treating TVET integration as a simple employability intervention, the article theorises Tahfiz (Qur'anic memorisation) TVET as a problem of value-compatible vocationalisation in faith-based schooling.
Design/methodology/approach: The article uses an exploratory conceptual-policy design informed by secondary analysis of an unpublished Kedah Tahfiz (Qur'anic memorisation) TVET survey report dated 30 April 2026. The report presents aggregate descriptive indicators for three stakeholder groups: asatizah (teachers), huffaz (Qur'an memorisers/students) and parents/guardians. Because raw response-level data, demographic variables and fieldwork verification were not available, the evidence is interpreted as aggregate descriptive case evidence rather than as a psychometrically validated population survey.
Findings: The descriptive indicators show favourable but conditional acceptance of Tahfiz (Qur'anic memorisation) TVET. Reported agreement was 80.3% among asatizah (teachers), 79.7% among huffaz (Qur'an memorisers) and 78.1% among parents. However, acceptance weakens around implementation risks: timetable burden, possible disruption to memorisation, cost to families, equipment needs, teacher preparation and safety in external workshops. The evidence therefore supports a distinction between attitudinal acceptance and implementation readiness.
Originality/value: The article proposes a Value-Compatible Vocationalisation Framework comprising five mechanisms: value compatibility, core-mission protection, capability expansion, implementation trust and stakeholder legitimacy. The framework explains why vocational reform in religious schooling cannot be justified through labour-market utility alone; it must be perceived as religiously legitimate, pedagogically non-disruptive, financially bearable and institutionally safe.