HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Madrasahs in Singapore are full-time, religious institutions that offer a
pedagogical Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and Developmental psychology, psychological development of le ...
mix of Islamic religious education and
secular education Secular education is a system of public education in countries with a secular government or separation between religion and state. An example of a secular educational system would be the French public educational system, where conspicuous reli ...
in their
curricula In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...
. While the Arabic term '
madrasa 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 '' ...
h' literally translates to 'school', whether religious or secular, the term 'madrasah' is legally and
colloquially Colloquialism (), also called colloquial language, everyday language or general parlance, is the style (sociolinguistics), linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom norm ...
defined in
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
today as an 'Islamic religious school'. There are currently six
madrasa 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 '' ...
hs in Singapore offering primary to tertiary education, namely, Aljunied Al-Islamiah, Irsyad Zuhri Al-Islamiah, Al-Maarif Al-Islamiah, Alsagoff Al-Arabiah, Al-Arabiah Al-Islamiah, and Wak Tanjong Al-Islamiah. Four of them are
co-educational 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 ...
, while the other two offer madrasah education exclusively to girls. Madrasah students take a range of Islamic religious subjects in addition to mainstream curriculum subjects and sit for the national examinations like their peers. They can often be easily identified by their distinctive traditional Malay uniform, including the ''
songkok The songkok or peci or kopiah is a cap widely worn in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the southern Philippines, and southern Thailand, most commonly among Muslim males. It has the shape of a truncated cone, usually made of black or emb ...
'' for boys and ''
tudung The tudong (Indonesian: ''tudung'', Jawi: تودوڠ) is a style of headscarf, worn as interpretation of the Islamic hijab, prevalent amongst many Muslim women in the Malay-speaking world; Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, and Singapore. Today, the t ...
'' for girls, in stark contrast to national schools that prohibit such religious headgear. Madrasahs are deeply rooted in Singapore's history, and prior to Singapore's independence, had enjoyed a "golden period" in becoming the centre of Islamic education in the region by producing and attracting many of the prominent Islamic religious scholars. But by the turn of the 21st century, madrasahs were forced to adapt and implement sweeping reforms in response to government policies and contemporary expectations by society and the Malay-Muslim society. Today, madrasahs have largely improved and excelled. However, challenges that pertain to their funding, curricula and teaching methodologies remain largely unsolved till today.


History

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 .


Medieval Era (1400s—1800s)

Following the import of Islam into Singapore in the early 15th century, the earliest forms of Islamic schools in Singapore were rudimentary and informal in nature. These schools, namely the Qur'anic schools and ''pondok'' schools, usually centered around one religious teacher offering to teach
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 ...
to students who became mere 'receptacles' to such teachings. Nonetheless, these Qur'anic schools and ''pondok'' schools flourished from the 15th to the late 19th century.


Qur'anic school

One of the earliest types of an informal Islamic educational institution was the Qur'anic school. It started in the halls of Malay royal palaces where the religious teacher was engaged to teach Islam privately and voluntarily. The venue of these lessons gradually shifted to the homes of religious teachers, in mosques or in the surau (prayer halls). Qur'anic schools focused on the mastery of the
Arabic language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a 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. E.Watson; Walter ...
for the sole purpose of facilitating the
memorization Memorization is the process of committing something to memory. It is a mental process undertaken in order to store in memory for later recall visual, auditory, or tactical information. The scientific study of memory is part of cognitive neurosc ...
and
recitation A recitation in a general sense is the act of reciting from memory, or a formal reading of verse or other writing before an audience. Public recitation is the act of reciting a work of writing before an audience. Academic recitation In a ...
of the
Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...
. The students were taught about how to perform the five daily prayers,
fasting Fasting is the abstention from eating and sometimes drinking. From a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (see " Breakfast"), or to the metabolic state achieved after ...
,
pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
to
Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
,
articles of faith A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets. The ea ...
, some forms of supplication and Arabic songs. Beyond this, students were not taught to learn the Qur'anic principles to comprehend their social, moral, political and economical roles as espoused in the Qur'an. In spite of the admittedly narrow approach to Islamic education, students of the Qur'anic school could proceed to learn the
Malay language Malay (; ms, Bahasa Melayu, links=no, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Rejang script, Rencong: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spo ...
, which was then written in
Jawi script Jawi (; ace, Jawoë; Kelantan-Pattani Malay, Kelantan-Pattani: ''Yawi''; ) is a writing system used for writing several languages of Southeast Asia, such as Acehnese language, Acehnese, Banjar language, Banjarese, Kerinci language, Kerinci, ...
, and in time be appointed as teachers.


Pondok school

Another type of Islamic educational institution that subsequently emerged was the '' pondok''
schools A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...
or pesantrans (''funduq'' in Arabic), which literally translates to 'inn' or 'hotel'. It was an institution of learning that resembled a
boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...
, as students lived in simple huts built around the religious teacher's house. It was a private institution usually established by a well-known religious teacher. Subjects taught in the ''pondok'' include
Islamic theology Schools of Islamic theology are various Islamic schools and branches in different schools of thought regarding ''ʿaqīdah'' (creed). The main schools of Islamic Theology include the Qadariyah, Falasifa, Jahmiyya, Murji'ah, Muʿtazila, Bati ...
(''tauhid''),
Quranic exegesis Tafsir ( ar, تفسير, tafsīr ) refers to exegesis, usually of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' ( ar, مُفسّر; plural: ar, مفسّرون, mufassirūn). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, in ...
(''tafsir''),
Islamic jurisprudence ''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh. The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and e ...
(''fiqh''), collections of sayings and teachings of the Prophet (''hadith''),
Arabic grammar Arabic grammar or Arabic language sciences ( ar, النحو العربي ' or ar, عُلُوم اللغَة العَرَبِيَّة ') is the grammar of the Arabic language. Arabic is a Semitic language and its grammar has many similarities with ...
(''nahu''),
Islamic mysticism Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
(''tasawwuf'') and
Islamic history The history of Islam concerns the political, social, economic, military, and cultural developments of the Islamic civilization. Most historians believe that Islam originated in Mecca and Medina at the start of the 7th century CE. Muslims r ...
(tarikh). These subjects were taught using
rote learning Rote learning is a memorization technique based on repetition. The method rests on the premise that the recall of repeated material becomes faster the more one repeats it. Some of the alternatives to rote learning include meaningful learning, as ...
,
memorization Memorization is the process of committing something to memory. It is a mental process undertaken in order to store in memory for later recall visual, auditory, or tactical information. The scientific study of memory is part of cognitive neurosc ...
, and the copying of texts of the teachings of Islam. Criticisms of the ''pondok'' schools were later leveled at their "limited" and "constricted methods of teaching of Islam". Despite its shortcomings, it is important to note that ''pondok'' schools significantly contributed "towards a progressive eradication of myths and legends which were pervasive in Malay texts and society during the
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
era".


Madrasah As-Sibyan (1905—1923)

The first recorded madrasah in Singapore, As-Sibyan, was established in 1905 at Bussorah Street in the vicinity of the
Sultan Mosque Sultan Mosque or Masjid Sultan is a mosque located at Muscat Street and North Bridge Road within the Kampong Glam precinct of the district of Rochor in Singapore. It was named after Sultan Hussain Shah. In 1975, it was designated a national monum ...
. Despite its name, As-Sibyan resembled more of a ''pondok'' than that of a madrasah. As-Sibyan was run by an Indonesian religious teacher who taught in his home at Bussorah street. The main educational focus in As-Sibyan was the memorization of the Qur'an. As-Sibyan relocated to Lorong Engku Aman in
Geylang Serai Geylang is a planning area and township located on the eastern fringe of the Central Region of Singapore, bordering Hougang and Toa Payoh in the north, Marine Parade in the south, Bedok in the east, and Kallang in the west. Geylang is perha ...
sometime around 1923. Unfortunately, little is known about As-Sibyan after that year. However, what is evident is that As-Sibyan had long since ceased operations because no ''pondok'' schools currently exist in Singapore today.


Colonial Era (1908—1945)

Muslim reformists were aware and discontented with the limitations of the Qur'anic and ''pondok'' schools, which they felt devoted too much attention on devotional worship and basic rituals of Islam (''fardhu a'in'') and did not sufficiently prepare Muslim students for
socio-economic Socioeconomics (also known as social economics) is the social science that studies how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes. In general it analyzes how modern societies progress, stagnate, or regress because of their local ...
development and
employment Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any othe ...
opportunities. The early madrasahs in Singapore established by the reformists were therefore "modernist institutions", and were lauded for the attempt (albeit limited) to shift Islamic education away from such traditional forms to a more Westernised structure.


Madrasah Al-Iqbal Al-Islamiah (1908—1909)

The first "modern madrasah" in Singapore, Al-Iqbal Al-Islamiah, was established on 4 February 1908, and was located at 107 Selegie Road. It was founded by an Islamic reformist, Syed Sheikh Ahmad Al-Hadi, a prominent figure in Malay journalism, who was in turn influenced by other Islamic reformists such as
Muhammad Abduh ; "The Theology of Unity") , alma_mater = Al-Azhar University , office1 = Grand Mufti of Egypt , term1 = 1899 – 1905 , Sufi_order = Shadhiliyya , disciple_of = , awards = , infl ...
and
Rashid Rida Muḥammad Rashīd ibn ʿAlī Riḍā ibn Muḥammad Shams al-Dīn ibn Muḥammad Bahāʾ al-Dīn ibn Munlā ʿAlī Khalīfa (23 September 1865 or 18 October 1865 – 22 August 1935 CE/ 1282 - 1354 AH), widely known as Sayyid Rashid Rida ( ar, ...
. Compared to its predecessors, Al-Iqbal was a "modern" and "revolutionary" madrasah. In terms of pedagogy, it advocated
discourse Discourse is a generalization of the notion of a conversation to any form of communication. Discourse is a major topic in social theory, with work spanning fields such as sociology, anthropology, continental philosophy, and discourse analysis. ...
and
reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, ...
ing, and emphasized on
debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...
s and rhetoric in lieu of traditional
rote learning Rote learning is a memorization technique based on repetition. The method rests on the premise that the recall of repeated material becomes faster the more one repeats it. Some of the alternatives to rote learning include meaningful learning, as ...
and memorization. Its curriculum integrated a broad range of subjects from religious topics such as the usual recitation of the Qur'an, Arabic language and
grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structure, structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clause (linguistics), clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraint ...
, and
Islamic ethics Islamic ethics (أخلاق إسلامية) is the "philosophical reflection upon moral conduct" with a view to defining "good character" and attaining the "pleasure of God" (''raza-e Ilahi''). It is distinguished from "Islamic morality", which per ...
, to other secular subjects such as
geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...
,
history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
,
mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
,
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
and
town planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...
. Its founder, Al-Hadi, had also refined the madrasah
academic year An academic year or school year is a period of time which schools, colleges and universities use to measure a quantity of study. School holiday School holidays (also referred to as vacations, breaks, and recess) are the periods during which sch ...
, introduced a new system of examination, and established proper rules and regulations. Al-Iqbal was not well-received by the local Muslim community then. This can be attributed to two reasons. The first being its expensive school fees: boarders had to pay an annual fee of 300
Straits dollar The Straits dollar was the currency of the Straits Settlements from 1898 until 1939. At the same time, it was also used in the Federated Malay States, the Unfederated Malay States, Kingdom of Sarawak, Brunei, and British North Borneo. Histor ...
s for accommodation,
uniforms A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, se ...
,
stationery Stationery refers to commercially manufactured writing materials, including cut paper, envelopes, writing implements, continuous form paper, and other office supplies. Stationery includes materials to be written on by hand (e.g., letter paper) ...
,
laundry Laundry refers to the washing of clothing and other textiles, and, more broadly, their drying and ironing as well. Laundry has been part of history since humans began to wear clothes, so the methods by which different cultures have dealt with t ...
and
medical Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...
expenses, while non-boarders had to pay between 24 and 96 Straits dollars. Such fees were beyond the reach of the Muslim community at that time. Another reason for its poor reception was the resistance and disapproval of Al-Iqbal's modernist and reformist agenda by religious traditionalists. These traditionalists, who mainly comprised the official religious hierarchy and traditional Malay elite, deemed Al-Iqbal's practices as "Westernized" and "profane", and therefore contradictory to Islam. In the face of negative feedback by the local community, Al-Iqbal was forced to close and relocate to
Riau Riau is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the central eastern coast of Sumatra along the Strait of Malacca. The province shares land borders with North Sumatra to the northwest, West Sumatra to the west, and Jambi to the south. Accord ...
within 18 months of its opening. The quick demise of Al-Iqbal had diminished the "reformist zeal" of the early madrasahs, but did not extinguish it. Despite Al-Iqbal's premature closure, its legacy as a reformist madrasah was apparent—it is postulated that Al-Iqbal represented "the forerunner of other reformist schools that were subsequently established throughout the Malay Peninsula in the following years."


Madrasah Al-Maarif Al-Islamiah (1936—present)

As an alternative to Al-Iqbal, Madrasah Al-Maarif was established in 1936 by Syeikh Muhammad Fadhlullah Suhaimi, a strong advocate of education for girls. Al-Maarif's reformist ideals were apparent from its inception: its curriculum included non-religious subjects. Al-Maarif was also the first madrasah to accept female students as well as male. Today, Al-Maarif is one of the only two madrasahs that offer madrasah education exclusively to girls. Associate Professor Khairudin and Dayang Hussin postulated that Al-Maarif and Al-Iqbal represented a new breed of madrasahs imbibing aspects of Islamic reformist ideals and accordingly, represented the beginning of formal Muslim education. As Assoc. Prof. Khairudin and Dayang Hussin wrote: By 1941, the madrasahs in Singapore were educating about 2000 students in total. By this time, Singapore was a major regional centre of Islamic education, producing and attracting many of the prominent Islamic religious scholars (ulama) in the region. This period is thus often referred to as the "golden period" of madrasahs in Singapore. The question of whether madrasahs conformed to the mainstream educational system of Singapore did not arise during the colonial era because the education landscape was already varied and each community catered to its own educational needs. Madrasahs were thus very much left to their own devices.


Post-Independence Era (1945—2000)

After
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
ended in 1945, education became crucial for a young nation trying to ensure economic survival after
independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
. In response, more madrasahs attempted to stay relevant by incorporating secular subjects in their curriculum. By the time Singapore attained self-governance in 1959, the number of madrasahs had doubled from 6 to 12. The number of madrasahs, and students attending such institutions, further ballooned during the period of merger between Singapore and Malaysia (1963–1965), with the highest number reaching 28 Muslim schools in 1962. Another reported claimed a numerical peak of 26 madrasahs in Singapore by 1966. Despite its initial expansion, the popularity of madrasahs declined with the emergence of national schools, and many were closed. Whilst madrasahs in Singapore had previously shone as regional beacons of knowledge during the colonial era, their roles in the post-independence era were very much dim. The role of madrasahs became confined to the sole production of religious teachers and officials for the local community. Beyond this limited role, madrasahs merely served as "a kind of
safety net A safety net is a net to protect people from injury after falling from heights by limiting the distance they fall, and deflecting to dissipate the impact energy. The term also refers to devices for arresting falling or flying objects for the ...
, taking in students who had failed the national school system... n functioningas providers of a social service to the community." By 1982, only four madrasahs providing secondary education and five providing primary education remained. To a large extent, the madrasahs "became, very much, schools on the periphery".


Introduction of the Administration of Muslim Law Act (1966—present)

With the passing of the
Administration of Muslim Law Act The ''Administration of Muslim Law Act'' is a 1966 Act of the Parliament of Singapore. According to an article published The Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and curre ...
(AMLA) in 1966,Section 87, Section 88, Administration of Muslim Law Act, Chapter 3 (Rev Ed 2009) madrasahs came under the purview of the
Islamic Religious Council of Singapore The Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS), also known as the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (IRCS), is a statutory board of the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth of the Government of Singapore. As a majlis, its role is to look afte ...
(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. Madrasah Al-Maarif became the first to prepare its students for the GCE 'O' and 'A' level examinations as private candidates. Despite these developments, madrasahs still faced challenges. By the mid-1980s, a gender disparity was apparent—almost 95% of madrasah students were female. This became a cause of concern for MUIS, which was worried that there would be a lack of male religious officials.


Management and control by MUIS (1990—present)

On 1 March 1990, MUIS gained control of the registration and management of madrasahs pursuant to Section 87 and 88 of AMLA. Sweeping reforms were made that "revived interest in the kind of education madrasahs could offer". A centralized curriculum for madrasahs was established. A degree of standardization among full-time madrasahs was also established. For example, the ''Peperiksaan Sijil Thanawi Empat'' (PSTE), which is a religious knowledge component certificate examination for students at the Secondary Four level in the madrasahs was introduced. By the late 1990s, the curriculum was revamped to include initiatives from the
Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
such as
information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system (I ...
education and national education. It must be noted, however, that despite the efforts by MUIS in consolidating and upgrading the madrasah system, results were "slow and few, partly due to tacit resistance by the madrasahs". These madrasahs, having established and managed themselves independently for many years, "resented having to be answerable to MUIS under the new arrangement." Nevertheless, by the early 1990s, the decline in demand for madrasahs in the post-independence era began to reverse. During this period, the popularity and demand for madrasah education rose and peaked, so much so that the number of applications always superseded the enrollment, 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 Standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available, generally applied to a society or location, rather than to an individual. Standard of living is relevant because it is considered to contribute to an individual's quality ...
and socio-economic status—and with it, a "greater desire to widen the scope and vision of Islamic education". There was a new expectation that madrasahs should provide not only religious education, but also academic skills like Mathematics, Science and English. Accordingly, this period was marked by debates and discourse over the purpose and relevance of madrasah education. In response, madrasahs were forced to adapt to such rapidly changing circumstances.


Introduction of the Compulsory Education Act (2001—present)

In light of the growing enrollment of students into madrasahs, the
Government of Singapore The Government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of Singapore to mean the executive branch of the state, which is made up of the president and the Cabinet. Although the president acts in their personal discretion in the exercise ...
began to seriously raise its growing concerns of madrasah students of not conforming with the objectives of national schools espoused by the state. In particular, questions were raised on the national platform as to whether madrasahs students can effectively contribute to a
knowledge-based economy The knowledge economy (or the knowledge-based economy) is an economic system in which the production of goods and services is based principally on knowledge-intensive activities that contribute to advancement in technical and scientific innov ...
, and participate in
social integration Social integration is the process during which newcomers or minorities are incorporated into the social structure of the host society. Social integration, together with economic integration and identity integration, are three main dimensions of ...
as part of
nation-building Nation-building is constructing or structuring a national identity using the power of the state. Nation-building aims at the unification of the people within the state so that it remains politically stable and viable in the long run. According to ...
. Statistics revealed by the Education Minister,
Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
(NS)
Teo Chee Hean Teo Chee Hean ( zh, s=张志贤, poj=Tiuⁿ Chì-hiân, p=Zhāng Zhìxián; born 27 December 1954) is a Singaporean politician and former two-star rear-admiral who has been serving as Senior Minister of Singapore since 2019 and Coordinating Min ...
, were particularly incriminating: Malay-Muslim students in national schools performed far better than their counterparts in madrasahs. Data further revealed a high attrition rate of 65% amongst madrasah students. This was troubling, because madrasah students who dropped out with only a primary or secondary education found that they had neither the necessary skills to join the national labor force nor the necessary qualifications to be religious educators. With these concerns at hand,
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Goh Chok Tong Goh Chok Tong (; born 20 May 1941) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1990 and 2004, and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party between 1992 and 2004. He was the Parliament of Singapore, ...
mooted his proposal for a compulsory education policy in his 1999
National Day Rally The National Day Rally ( ms, Rapat Umum Hari Kebangsaan; ; ta, தேசிய தின பேரணி) is an annual message delivered by the prime minister of Singapore to the entire nation, on the first or second Sunday after the National ...
Speech. 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. In support of the policy, PM Goh said: Senior Minister
Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew (16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), born Harry Lee Kuan Yew, often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean lawyer and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1990, and Secretary-General o ...
(as he then was) echoed his successor's views in an exclusive interview with the
Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...
: The proposal for a compulsory education policy drew "mixed but intense response from different sections of the Malay-Muslim community". On one hand, some recognized the inadequacies of the madrasah system and supported the policy—such was the view of the Malay political leaders and some community leaders. On the other hand, madrasah advocates were "aroused, if not agitated", and vehemently resisted the policy which they had perceived to be a governmental ploy, made with a "sinister motive" "to undermine the Muslim parochial school system". Many saw the policy as infringing on their right and freedom to educate their children in a manner they see fit. They were also genuinely concerned that there would be insufficient number of students who would be motivated to switch to the madrasah after having spent six years in the national schools, leading to an extinction of the madrasahs. In any case, they argued, religious education would be less effective if it were to start later at the secondary level. In a statement released to the press, the Singapore Islamic Scholars & Religious Teachers Association ( PERGAS) tersely asserted: 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, PM Goh announced that madrasahs could be exempted from compulsory education on condition that they prepared their primary school students for the national exam, the
Primary School Leaving Examination The Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) (Malay: ''Peperiksaan Tamat Sekolah Rendah'', Simplified Chinese: 小学离校考试 x''iǎoxué lí xiào kǎoshì'') is a national examination in Singapore that is administered by the Ministry of Ed ...
(PSLE). Madrasah students must meet the score set by Malay pupils in the six lowest-performing national schools at the PSLE at least twice within a three-year period. Failure to meet this benchmark would mean that particular madrasah would not be allowed to offer primary classes for a year. New intakes of students into madrasahs would be capped at 400 a year. PM Goh further emphasized that the policy was not intended to close down the madrasahs, and the Government's willingness to support one madrasah from primary to secondary level was testimony to its recognition of the importance of madrasahs. This was later honoured when the Government upgraded Madrasah Irsyad with the necessary funding and infrastructure support, allowing the madrasah to shift to a $16 million, eight-storey building at the Singapore Islamic Hub on Braddell Road. The enactment of the Compulsory Education Act in 2001, and its eventual implementation in 2003, meant that madrasahs had to prepare the pioneer batch of madrasah students seating for their PSLE in 2008 to meet the benchmark, 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." In order to make the cut, madrasahs made sweeping reforms and necessary preparations by equipping students with improved competencies in English, Mathematics and Science. 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. Madrasah Aljunied, for example, devoted 7 hours a week to the subject of mathematics, compared to 3 previously. School hours were also extended to accommodate both religious and secular subjects in preparation for the PSLE. Despite taking such measures, Madrasah Wak Tanjong did not meet the benchmark twice in the 3-year assessment period from 2008 to 2010. As a result, it could only resume its primary school enrollment in 2015. 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. Since the inception of the PSLE requirement, the majority of the madrasahs in Singapore have consistently met the benchmark till today. In 2015, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs,
Yaacob Ibrahim Yaacob bin Ibrahim ( Jawi: ; born 3 October 1955) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs between 2002 and 2018, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports between 2002 and 2004, Ministe ...
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. Madrasahs are individually run by their self-appointed management committees, and are thus conferred significant autonomy to develop and select their own curriculum time, teaching methodologies, educational materials and their own teachers. As a consequence, the structure and pedagogy of the madrasahs often greatly differ from the conventional educational system in Singapore, and even amongst themselves.


Structure

Today, there are six full-time madrasahs with approximately 4,400 students and 220 religious teachers in total. They have a combined annual intake of about 400 students. It was recognised that it was not "efficient or effective for each madrasah to have primary and secondary or even pre-university classes", given the small number of students entering the madrasahs each year. Accordingly, in January 2009, the Joint-Madrasah System (JMS) was implemented to further improve the quality of madrasah education in Singapore. 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. Accordingly, Irsyad will become the feeder primary school to Aljunied and Al-Arabiah. Aljunied will specialize in religious schooling, while Al-Arabiah will specialize in academic, secular schooling.Hj Mohd Alami Musa
Speech by MUIS President
, At Madrasah Al-Arabiah Haflah on Saturday (26 January 2013) At Singapore Islamic Hub.
Under this system, students are thus afforded "more choices" to excel in what they desire, be it in religious studies or in academic learning. The system would also offer a "broad-based", "multidisciplinary and integrated curriculum", which has been described as "a major paradigm shift in madrasah education." 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 Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-lev ...
at the prestigious
Al-Azhar University , image = جامعة_الأزهر_بالقاهرة.jpg , image_size = 250 , caption = Al-Azhar University portal , motto = , established = *970/972 first foundat ...
in
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
,
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
. Others may opt for enrollment at the
International Islamic University Malaysia The International Islamic University Malaysia ( ms, Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia; Jawi alphabet, Jawi: اونيۏرسيتي اسلام انتارابڠسا مليسيا; ar, الجامعة الإسلامية العالمية بمال ...
or
Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (; ar, جامعة العلوم الاسلامية الماليزية; abbreviated as USIM) is an Islamic university in Nilai, Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, which is fully owned and funded by the Malaysian govern ...
, 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. Professor Mukhlis particularly asserts that the current objectives of including secular subjects has been "mostly for
utilitarian In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals. Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different charac ...
ends," and does not fully embody the true reformist objective of acquiring secular knowledge "as intrinsic to man's rational nature," which was evident in the early madrasahs.


Finances

As private institutions, madrasahs historically receive funding mainly from wealthy Muslim philanthropists or Muslim-based organizations. Today, the issue of funding poses one of the most severe, perennial problems plaguing madrasah education since the 1960s, and is often a contributing factor itself to the other challenges faced by madrasahs. The lack of funds naturally hinders madrasahs from procuring the necessary upgrades to resources, facilities, supplies and
infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...
. Whilst teachers at national schools are among the most highly paid
civil servants The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
, madrasahs often face difficulties in attracting qualified teachers due to their lack of funds. In addition, most madrasah teachers receive little training in pedagogy, making standards "rather patchy". In the case of one madrasah, more than S$800,000 was required to finance its annual operations, but only 50% of this was met through fees and miscellaneous grants disbursed by MUIS. Valuable, scarce resources had to be diverted to fulfill the other 50% through
fund raising Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...
efforts. The long-standing issue of funding has been noted and discussed on numerous occasions, but without being adequately resolved. The launch of the Madrasah Fund in 1994 allowed madrasahs to tackle existing funding problems with contributions from the public, MUIS and Mendaki, and provided a respite to a certain extent. As of 2012, a total of S$5.18 million were directly disbursed to all six madrasahs from the Madrasah Fund. 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. As of 2014, the Wakaf Ilmu fund has grown to $6.3 million, more than double the initial amount of $3 million when it was first set up. These funding issues have been repeatedly raised to the Government. In August 2011, an email
petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offici ...
was collated on behalf of the parents of Madrasah Irsyad students calling upon the Government to extend annual Edusave scheme to their children. The Edusave scheme was implemented in 1993 to provide yearly monetary contributions to every student for their holistic development, 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 Sim Ann ( zh, s=沈颖, p=Shěn Yíng; born 1975) is a Singaporean politician and former civil servant who has been serving as Senior Minister of State for National Development since 2020 and Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs since ...
, 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. On 23 August 2015, Prime Minister
Lee Hsien Loong Lee Hsien Loong (; born 10 February 1952) is a Singaporean politician and former brigadier-general who has been serving as Prime Minister of Singapore and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party since 2004. He has been the Member of Par ...
pledged that the Government will work with the MUIS to strengthen the teaching of secular subjects in madrasahs such as mathematics and science. It will also give financial aid to improve the skills of these teachers, and fund awards for students who do well in them. 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." PM Lee assured that while the Government will help with secular subjects, it will leave religious education in the hands of MUIS and the community. 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 Yaacob bin Ibrahim ( Jawi: ; born 3 October 1955) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs between 2002 and 2018, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports between 2002 and 2004, Ministe ...
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 The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY; ms, Kementerian Kebudayaan, Masyarakat dan Belia; ; ta, கலாசார, சமூக, இளையர்துறை அமைச்சு) is a ministry of the Government of Singapore r ...
.


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

*
Abu Bakar bin Taha Syed Abu Bakar bin Taha Alsagoff ( ar, سيد أبو بكر بن طه السقاف ') (1882, in Hadramaut, Yemen – 22 January 1956) was a well-known Islamic educator in Singapore. Life Abu Bakar bin Taha received his early education in his bir ...


References


Further reading

* Noor Aisha Abdul Rahman & A. E. Lai (2006).
Between State Interests and Citizen Rights: Whither the Madrasah
. Secularism and Spirituality: Seeking Integrated Knowledge and Success in Madrasah Education in Singapore. Singapore: Singapore: Institute of Policy Studies & Marshall Cavendish Academic. pp. 29–57. . * Mutalib, Hussin (2012)

Routledge. p. 72. .


External links

* http://www.madrasah.sg/News/index.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Madrasahs in Singapore *