JOHOR BAHRU, 3 February– A total of 344 candidates, including 26 private candidates, began sitting for the Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia (STAM) examination at 13 examination centers in the state from today until February 13th.

The examination will take place in six districts with the involvement of 100 officers to ensure the examination process run smoothly.

State Education and Information Exco, Aznan Tamin, said the STAM education has always been a priority for the state government in order to produce more Islamic scholars.

"Johor STAM candidates who achieve excellent results will be given scholarships and educational loans to pursue their studies at higher learning institutions in the country and abroad," he said.

In addition, the state government also emphasised the efforts to empower the Islamic education sector by featuring experts in the field in order for them to receive premium salary rates.

"They are not only expert speakers, but also psychologists, counselors and so on. With this premium salary of RM4,000, our goal is to get young people to be involved in various sectors in Johor so that they get rewards commensurate with their expertise," he said.

He said this after visiting Madrasah Al-Attas Al-Arabiah Johor here on Monday.