PETALING JAYA, April 28 — More than 600 tahfiz schools in the country are not registered with the state religious authorities.

The shocking revelation comes following the death of 11-year-old Mohamad Thaqif Amin Mohd Gaddafi in Johor on Wednesday.

The religious school he attended in Kota Tinggi was among those unregistered.

National Institute of Tahfiz Al-Quran president Mohd Zahid Mahmood said Madrasah Tahfiz Al Jauhar was in the midst of getting approval from the state religious body.

He said there were about 1,200 tahfiz schools nationwide, but only 670 were registered.

"Those registered are monitored, and their syllabus looked into and funds provided.”

He, however, said there was no uniform syllabus and no standardised hiring process for staff at such schools,” he told Malay Mail Afternoon E-paper.

Zahid said the association had made plans last year to set up a Tahfiz Teacher Excellence Centre to: