Umno vice-president Najib Tun Razak today revealed that the party's annual general assembly next week would discuss the government's efforts in reintegrating Islamic education into the national school system.

"There will be emphasis on government policies with regard to education and religion. There has been a change in that Islamic education in the country is now being brought back to the mainstream education system," he told a press conference this morning in Kuala Lumpur.

Najib said this is among three motions set for the meeting which is scheduled to begin next Tuesday.

Economic challenges

Najib said two other motions to be raised concern recent economic developments in the country.

"The first motion is for (Umno president and Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad) to give his speech. The delegates will then debate the motion of thanks to the leadership of the president in overcoming recent economic challenges," he said.

He also said another motion would be for delegates to discuss the stimulus package unveiled by the government to address the economic slowdown as a result of the war on Iraq and the outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) in the region.

"We will be looking at the effects of the stimulus package on the economy and on certain groups in the country," he added.

Educational incentives

The session on education and religion is expected to address recent controversies over the government's sudden withdrawal of support for sekolah agama rakyat (privately-run religious schools).

The government had originally intended to stop disbursing an annual grant of between RM50 to RM160 per student at the religious schools from this year, on the grounds that students were being taught to hate the government - a charge that the schools have denied.

The move was put on hold after the government found that it had already budgeted for the provision, leaving open the question of whether the funding would only be withdrawn from the next academic year onwards.

It also attracted students out of religious schools by introducing Arabic language instruction in national schools. While all students have the option of studying Arabic, the subject is compulsory for students previously from the religious education stream.

There are more than 260 private-run religious schools with a total attendance of 74,000 students at primary and secondary levels. Since the government's intervention, at least 15,000 students are estimated to have transferred to study at national schools.