Madrasahs in Singapore

The term 'madrasah' is legally and colloquially defined in Singapore as a 'religious school'. Madrasahs have existed in Singapore since the import of Islam in the early 15th century . These schools, namely the Qur'anic schools and pondok schools, usually centered around one religious teacher offering to teach Islam to students who became mere 'receptacles' to such teachings. In spite of the admittedly narrow approach to Islamic education, students of the Qur'anic school could proceed to learn the Malay language, which was then written in Jawi script, and in time be appointed as teachers. It was a private institution usually established by a well-known religious teacher. and were lauded for the attempt (albeit limited) to shift Islamic education away from such traditional forms to a more Westernised structure. It was founded by an Islamic reformist, Syed Sheikh Ahmad Al-Hadi, a strong advocate of education for girls. madrasahs came under the purview of the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) and numerous reforms were made. In that year, Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah included English, Malay, mathematics and science in its curriculum, 39 years after its existence, and offered the GCE 'O' level examination for the first time in 1973. These madrasahs, having established and managed themselves independently for many years, "resented having to be answerable to MUIS under the new arrangement." half of such applications had to be turned down, and the resulting student enrollment had more than doubled. Modern Era (2000—present) Despite the apparent popularity of the madrasahs, the growing community support had also added new pressures. During this period, both the Muslim community and Singaporeans as a whole experienced a general rise in living standards and socio-economic status—and with it, a "greater desire to widen the scope and vision of Islamic education". This proposed policy meant that children between the ages of six and 15 must attend six years of primary school education at a national school. The policy effectively implied that madrasahs could no longer offer their primary classes as an alternative to national primary schooling. Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew (as he then was) echoed his successor's views in an exclusive interview with the Reader's Digest: The proposal for a compulsory education policy drew "mixed but intense response from different sections of the Malay-Muslim community". The defiant stance of madrasah advocates made clear that the majority of the Muslim community was anxious to maintain the madrasah institution. After a series of closed-door meetings and open forums, The enactment of the Compulsory Education Act in 2001, and its eventual implementation in 2003, lest the authorities halt primary enrollment for that particular madrasah. To this end, the "PSLE requirement" has been described as "the main driver of change for Singapore madrasahs in the 21st century." Such measures include a greater emphasis on English as a medium of instruction, and the introduction of a learning support programme to assist weaker students. School hours were also extended to accommodate both religious and secular subjects in preparation for the PSLE. Of the pioneer batch in 2008, 98% of the 321 pupils qualified to progress to secondary school, higher than the national average of 97%. In 2009, 93% of the 363 pupils who sat for the PSLE qualified for secondary school. In 2015, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, Yaacob Ibrahim announced that the academic performance of madrasah students have improved over the years. He pointed out that in 2014, 61.7% of madrasah students made it to the Express stream, a 16% increase compared to the year before. == Madrasah education in Singapore ==

As private institutions, madrasahs do not receive full Government funding and are only "loosely regulated" by the Ministry of Education. The JMS includes three of the six full-time madrasahs. Under the new system, Irsyad will provide only primary education while Aljunied and Al-Arabiah will only offer secondary and tertiary education. Under this system, students are thus afforded "more choices" to excel in what they desire, be it in religious studies or in academic learning. Facilities of madrasahs under the JMS have been upgraded to support the revamped curriculum, thus allowing for more enrichment programs beyond the classroom and madrasah. A S$2 million fund has been allocated to the JMS for the recruitment of new teaching and administrative staff. The JMS is expected to be fully implemented by 2015. Upon graduation from the tertiary level, the most outstanding students often choose to pursue undergraduate studies at the prestigious Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt. Others may opt for enrollment at the International Islamic University Malaysia or Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, among other overseas universities. When graduates return, most end up as religious teachers at full-time or part-time madrasahs. Others find jobs that deal with Muslim affairs in government institutions such as MUIS or the Syariah Court. A handful of students who attend local universities or polytechnics would go on to obtain careers in their respective professional fields. Pedagogy Different madrasahs provide different pedagogies and juggle both religious and secular subjects in differentiated ways and with varying degrees of success—there are no uniform approaches or common curriculum. Madrasah Alsagoff and Madrasah Aljunied, riding on their reputation as excellent institutions of religious education, "have kept as much as seventy percent of the curriculum time for religious subjects, including Arabic, while English, Malay and Mathematics remain at the periphery." In contrast, madrasahs such as Wak Tanjong, Al-Maarif and Irsyad provide roughly equal emphasis to religious and secular subjects. In recent years, madrasahs have been increasing curriculum time for English, Mathematics, and Science to match the time spent on these subjects in mainstream schools. To accommodate both, the school day at Irsyad Zuhri Al-Islamiah is three hours longer than at the mainstream schools. It is accepted that such an orientation, however, will compromise to a great extent the emphasis on religious education and values in madrasahs. In spite of fears that the madrasah identity would be lost, such improvements in the students' knowledge repertoire have, in fact, added to the attractiveness of madrasah education. Irsyad said it was in talks to export its widely commended madrasah model to madrasas in the Philippines and Thailand. == Challenges ==

Curriculum objectives One of the challenges madrasahs face is whether madrasah students can effectively contribute to the knowledge-based economy. In addition, an endowment fund was set up by MUIS in 2012 to provide further financing for the madrasahs. Wakaf Ilmu, as the fund is called, is composed of contributions from an Islamic general endowment fund administered by the MUIS, corporate donations, and donations and pledges from the public, including students. but madrasah students were conspicuously left out. It was only after 20 years from its inception did the Government decide to grant the annual Edusave grant to madrasah students in 2013. Madrasahs students, however, remain ineligible for Edusave awards. The rationale given by Minister of State for Education, Sim Ann, was that these awards only recognise "secular academic and non-academic achievements in the context of Ministry of Education-funded schools", and are thus inappropriate for madrasahs. Speaking in Malay, PM Lee said that it is "important for our religious scholars and leaders to have a good grounding in non-religious subjects. It prepares them to guide Singapore's Muslims to live in a modern, technological society." It is reported that these enhanced Government support to madrasahs have enjoyed a "positive response" by madrasah students and staff alike. In 2015, Minister Yaacob Ibrahim announced that madrasah students will no longer have to pay national examination fees, similar to that of other students studying in national schools. These fees will be footed by MUIS and the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth. Teaching methodology In addition, most madrasah teachers receive little training in pedagogy, making standards "rather patchy". Since 2008, MUIS has spent more than S$3 million on teacher training programmes organised in partnership with the National Institute of Education (NIE) and Edith Cowan University in Australia, workshops and seminars. a number of teachers to pursue teaching qualifications at the National Institute of Education in Singapore and at Edith Cowan University in Australia. In November 2007, MUIS and the National Institute of Education jointly launched a specialist diploma course aimed at equipping madrasah teachers with critical pedagogical skills. It is estimated that 90% of the teachers at madrasahs would have sat for the diploma by the end of 2010. By 2012, 73 madrasah teachers have obtained their Diploma in Education qualification and another 76 teachers have graduated from the Specialist Diploma Programme at the NIE. Informally, some teachers have, at their own initiative, tapped into their networks of friends and acquaintances in mainstream schools to arrange for brief attachments to these schools for lesson observations. National Integration Another challenge madrasahs face is whether the madrasah students can integrate into the larger society. In 2004, Madrasah Wak Tanjong (located at Sims Avenue) included in its national day celebrations and open house, four teachers and 40 students from Takada Junior High, a Buddhist school in Nagoya, Japan. These teachers and students were part of an ongoing exchange programme with the madrasah. ==See also==