Madrasah Al-Arabiah Al-Islamiah is a full-time
co-education
Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...
al
madrasah
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...
offering
secondary school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
education in
:Singapore. Madrasah is an Arabic word that means "school" but in the present context a madrasah means an
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic
religious school
A religious school is a school that either has a religious component in its operations or its curriculum, or exists primarily for the purpose of teaching aspects of a particular religion.
Children
A school can either be of two types, though the sa ...
.
Like the five other full-time
madrasahs in Singapore Madrasahs in Singapore are full-time, religious institutions that offer a pedagogical mix of Islamic religious education and secular education in their curricula. While the Arabic term 'madrasah' literally translates to 'school', whether religious ...
(
Aljuneid Al-Islamiah,
Alsagoff Al-Arabiah,
Irsyad Zuhri Al-Islamiah,
Al-Maarif Al-Islamiah and Madrasah Wak Tanjong Al-Islamiah),
Madrasah Al-Arabiah Al-Islamiah (MAI) is a private school which offers students an education comprising both
ukhrawi (Islamic religious) subjects such as
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
and
Revelation studies
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religious meaning of knowledge, knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entiti ...
, as well as
duniawi (secular) subjects like English, Mathematics and Science. MAI's students take both secular and ukhrawi national exams. Many of its graduates move on to further their studies in Islamic Universities overseas and return to become
asatizahs (religious teachers), while others attend the local
polytechnics and universities.
[Razak Mohamed Lazim. SHINE; Student Handbook for Irsyadians. Singapore : Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah.] The school is currently operating at its campus at Lorong 6 Toa Payoh.
History
Madrasah Al-Arabiah Al-Islamiah was founded in the 1930s along Hillside Drive near Upper Serangoon beside Masjid Haji Yusoff. It was however only in 1946 that it was registered with the state authorities. In 1965, the Madrasah Management Committee was formed to raise funds for the upgrading of the madrasah, but despite raising insufficient funds the madrasah continued giving back to the neighbouring community. On 26 July 1982, the madrasah was destroyed by a fire, but a class of 17 students returned in spite of the situation to continue schooling. Later in the 1980s the school moved to a new site in Kembangan, along Jalan Selamat, where the Muhammadiyah Association building now stands. In 2005, the madrasah moved again to a larger facility along Lorong 13 Geylang, but it unfortunately still didn't have ample facilities like science labs and thus students had to visit other madrasahs to use them.
In 2007, the madrasah joined the Joint Madrasah System (JMS) together with
Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah
Madrasah Irsyad Zuhri Al-Islamiah is a full-time co-educational madrasah offering primary education in Singapore.Nostalgia Irsyad 1947–2007. -bookSingapore : Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah, 2007. Madrasah is an Arabic word that means "schoo ...
and
Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah
Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah is a full-time, private Islamic institution of learning in Singapore, one of the six such madrasahs in Singapore. Madrasah Aljunied is one of the oldest surviving madrasahs in Singapore. Through its years, it has gai ...
, and switched to offering only secondary education, the system is similar to the affiliation of certain mainstream primary and secondary schools, but is to essentially get around the problem of having limited funds and to raise the performance of students.
In 2009, the madrasah moved yet again to its current location in Toa Payoh, which is a temporary location at the site of the former Poi Ching School. In 2020, moved again this time to a permanent location next to its current location in Toa Payoh where the site of the former Pei Chun Public School used to be located. The new campus is expected to have new classrooms, laboratories and a multipurpose hall, and more.
Curriculum
MAI students take the
GCE 'O' and/or
'N(A)' Level Examinations at the end of either 4 or 5 years in the madrasah. This would prepare students for higher level examinations in either the Junior Colleges or Polytechnics or other institutes of higher education when they leave the madrasah. Students will sit for a minimum of 7 or a maximum of 9 subjects, of which they include subjects such as languages, sciences, humanities, Islamic studies and life skills. MAI has also adopted the
Ministry of Education (MOE) iSTEM programme, with an emphasis on science education. Service learning would also be part of the curriculum in MAI, with opportunities to take part in local and overseas projects. As with other educational institutes, MAI has both financial assistance and scholarship schemes for its students, and opportunities for its top performing students to partake in special programmes.
See also
*
Islam in Singapore
Practitioners of Islam make up about 15.6% of Singapore's residents, according to the 2020 census. Islam is the third largest religion in the country, after Buddhism and Christianity. Over four-fifths of Singaporean Muslims are ethnic Malay ...
*
Madrasahs in Singapore Madrasahs in Singapore are full-time, religious institutions that offer a pedagogical mix of Islamic religious education and secular education in their curricula. While the Arabic term 'madrasah' literally translates to 'school', whether religious ...
References
External links
*
{{Education in Singapore , state=collapsed
Educational institutions established in 1946
Madrasahs in Singapore
Secondary schools in Singapore
1946 establishments in Singapore