Level of Knowledge on Takaful Among Mindanao State University - Main Campus Employees

Abstract

This study focused on the knowledge of the employees of MSU Main Campus about takaful, its concept, principles and objectives, which is identified as a gap between the emergent takaful window model in the Philippines and the public's understanding of shariah-compliant risk sharing. The knowledge was assessed using descriptive quantitative survey, which was best suited for measuring the knowledge in the areas of mutual-help philosophy, contractual structure, and product scope among the MSU Main Campus employees. The results indicated that the cooperative underpinning of takaful was well recognised with both ta'awun and tabarru' being affirmed by many respondents, although there was a lack of clarity between conceptual and legal understanding because almost half of the respondents believed that takaful is owned by the operators. Likewise, awareness of takaful's multi-line products, and its cross-faith inclusivity, was high, with approximately half of the employees confusing the two products as being one and the same, under a contract. Results show that even at promotional level, awareness of the Islamic identity of takaful has not yet been reflected in any type of operational literacy on fund ownership and contractual mechanisms, suggesting a need for more specific institutional education – beyond the philosophical level.