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Islamic religious education: Case study of a madrasah in Singapore

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 Tan, C. & Kasmuri, A. (2007). Islamic religious education: Case study of a madrasah in
Singapore. In Tan, C. & Chong, K.C. (Eds.), Critical Perspectives on Values Education in
Asia (pp. 109-124). Singapore: Prentice Hall.

CHAPTER 8

Islamic Religious Education: Case Study of a Madrasah in

Singapore

Charlene TAN and Amnah KASMURI

Singapore is a multi-ethnic country with more than 4 million residents, comprising

Chinese (78%), Malays (14%), Indians (7%) and other races (1%) (Singapore
Department of Statistics, 2000). It is also religiously diverse, with the majority of
the population being Buddhists (42.5%), followed by Muslims (14.9%), Christians
(14.6%), Taoists (8.5%), Hindus (4.0%), other religions (0.6%), and those who
profess to have no religion (14.8%). Among the ethnic groups, the Malays are the
most homogenous with 99.6% who are Muslims. Muslim children in Singapore
can choose to receive full-time education at a secular national school or at a
madrasah (Islamic religious school). Currently, about 4% of Muslim students
receive full-time education at madrasahs in Singapore. This chapter focuses on
Islamic religious education in one madrasah in Singapore. The case study serves to
highlight the issues and challenges faced by madrasahs in Singapore in their
attempts to balance the dual needs of achieving high academic performance and
fulfilling their religious mission to produce religious teachers and leaders in a
modern world, secular state and plural society.

Background to Islamic Education in Singapore

Up to 1955, Singapore was under the British colonial rule and was socially divided
along ethnic and religious lines. With self-government in 1959 and independence
in 1965, the concern for national economic development and social cohesion,
together with the establishment of national identity, was given the highest priority.
The government led by the People’s Action Party (PAP) introduced a number of
education reforms such as bringing all national secular schools under a common
national educational system, introducing a uniform curriculum and locally
produced textbooks, and making moral and citizenship education compulsory.
Since Singapore’s independence in 1965, the Singapore government has aimed to
achieve two main objectives of education: (1) giving the students a common core

109
110 Critical Perspectives on Values Education in Asia

of knowledge which will provide a strong foundation for further education and
training to prepare them for a knowledge-based economy; and (2) giving them a
common educational experience which will help to build national identity and
cohesion (Committee on Compulsory Education in Singapore, 2000).
Historically, madrasahs were built by Muslim philanthropists to provide Islamic
education for Muslim children and the first madrasah was established at the
beginning of the 20th century. Each madrasah has its management committee
whose members are appointed by Ministry of Education (MOE) in consultation
with Majlis Ugama Islam (MUIS). MUIS or the Islamic Religious Council of
Singapore was officially established in 1968 as a statutory body to advise the
President of Singapore on all matters relating to Islam in Singapore. MUIS is the
highest bureaucracy in charge of Muslim matters in Singapore. Under the
Administration of Muslim Law Act (AMLA), administrative jurisdiction over the
madrasahs in Singapore was transferred from MOE to MUIS in 1996. Although
madrasahs are not under the jurisdiction of MOE, it is still subject to the
provisions of the Education Act as they are registered as private schools with
MOE.

There are currently six full-time madrasahs offering primary and secondary
education, out of which three offer courses up to the pre-university level. While all
madrasahs aim to produce religious teachers and leaders to lead the community on
religious matters, some madrasahs also aim to nurture Muslim professionals who
have the requisite skills for employment. Both religious subjects such as Islamic
Education and Arabic language, and secular subjects such as English and
Mathematics are taught in the madrasahs. The madrasahs devote different amount
of curriculum time for secular subjects, ranging from 30% to 60%. All the students
enrolled in these madrasahs must sit for examinations set by the madrasahs. The
examinations are set internally by the individual madrasahs with the exception of
Secondary 4 examinations as MUIS has instituted a common examination since
1995. Besides the examinations set by the madrasahs, some madrasah students
have been taking the Cambridge Board General Certificate of Education (GCE)
examinations for secondary and pre-university students since the early 1970s
(Noor Aisha, 2006). Full-time students at the madrasahs usually apply for
admission to overseas Islamic universities, although some choose to go to secular
polytechnics, universities and other educational institutions in Singapore and
overseas. The next section discusses Islamic religious education in one madrasah
in Singapore.

Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah

Background
Islamic Religious Education: Case Study of a Madrasah in Singapore 111

Like the other five madrasahs in Singapore, Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah is

registered under the Ministry of Education (MOE) as a private school. It comes
under the Administration of Muslim Law Act (AMLA) under MUIS. Its
Management Committee members are appointed by MOE on a two-year term.
Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah was founded as Mahadul Irsyad in 1947. It
started by offering Basic Quran and Islamic knowledge to the villagers with an
enrolment of about 50 students. There was no formal syllabus and the students
were of mixed age groups. Renamed Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah in 1990, it
came under the administration of MUIS in the same year. It shifted its premises
from Hindhede Road to Woodlands Road due to urban redevelopment. Besides
Islamic subjects, it began to offer primary level subjects based on those offered in
secular national schools – English, Malay, Mathematics, and Science. The
enrolment rose to about 400 students in the early 1990s.

In 1996, the madrasah was relocated to another temporary leased building at

Winstedt Road. A significant change was the opening of classes at the secondary
level since 1997. That allowed the primary students to proceed to the secondary
level in the same madrasah. The enrolment also increased to about 900 students
since 1997 and there were 776 students in the madrasah in 2006. The madrasah
will shift to a seven-storeyed building at Braddell Road in 2009 which will be its
permanent premises. It will be part of the Singapore Islamic Hub, together with
MUIS and Muhajirin Mosque in the same premises.

The popularity of Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah is evident in the fact that an

average of more than 300 children applied to join the madrasah in the late 1990s.
Although the number of applicants dipped in the early 2000s to an average of more
than 100 per year, the demand still outstrips supply every year. For example, only
about 70 out of more than 100 students were admitted to the primary one level in
2006. To give full subject exposure to the students, the madrasah operates full day
session from 7:30 am to 3:40 pm. In terms of gender, there are about 75% girls and
25% boys. That there are more girls than boys in the madrasah is unsurprising as
most of the madrasahs in Singapore have traditionally more girls than boys in their
enrolments. A possible reason could be because Muslim parents prefer their
daughters to don a head-scarf (tudung) which is part of the school uniform in the
madrasahs. MOE prohibits Muslim female students from wearing the head-scarfs
in all secular national schools in Singapore.

Philosophy, Vision, Shared Values and Objective

Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah’s philosophy is: “Every child can!” which
emphasises the potential of every student in the madrasah to excel. Its vision,
“First choice in madrasah education” signifies the resolve of the madrasah to be a
112 Critical Perspectives on Values Education in Asia

model madrasah in Singapore. The desired outcomes of education for the

madrasah are spelt out as follows:
Islamic Religious Education: Case Study of a Madrasah in Singapore 113

Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah shall produce du’at [Allah’s vicegerent] who:

 Glorifies Allah by radiating the message of Islam

 Loves the Prophet through exemplifying his morally upright character
 Is devoted to the Quran and the knowledge therein
 Emulates the learned scholars and their quest for knowledge
 Possesses the spirit of a mujaddid [reformer] in their[sic] innovative and
enterprising spirit
 Aspires to be a faithful servant by contributing to humanity

The desired outcomes of education for the madrasah can be summed up in the
words “Khalifah Fil-ard” which means “vicegerent”. Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-
Islamiah aims to promote the following “Shared Values”:

 God-conscious: Iman. We believe that we’re here on a God-given mission.

What we do in [Madrasah] Irsyad is an ibadah [worship]. We strive to
undertake this mission with amanah [trustworthiness] and taqwa [faith].
 People-centred: Ihsan. Our existence is to serve others in Allah’s cause.
Each person we encounter in Irsyad is important. We treat everyone with
empathy and respect.
 Excellence-driven: Itqan. We believe that this noble mission deserves only
the best. We strive at giving our best, every time. We are committed
towards delivering our work with passion and professionalism.

As an Islamic institution, Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah has set the following

objective for its graduates:

Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah graduates shall persevere to continue their

development to be potential asatizah [religious teachers] and Ulama [religious
leaders] who shall make a difference within the realities of a modern world,
secular state and plural society.

It is clear from the madrasah’s objective that the madrasah focuses on preparing
students to be religious teachers and leaders for the Muslim community. This is
different from other madrasahs in Singapore which aim to produce both religious
teachers and leaders, and Muslim professionals holding secular jobs. This single
objective of nurturing religious teachers and leaders was introduced only in 2005
as the madrasah is aware that many of its graduates who have completed the GCE
‘O’ level did not choose to continue in Islamic institutions, and have opted instead
to study in secular institutions such as the polytechnics and universities. Between
2002 and 2005, about one-third of the graduates chose to continue their religious
114 Critical Perspectives on Values Education in Asia

study in Islamic institutions (e.g., in another madrasah in Singapore or overseas

Islamic universities such as Kolej Universiti Islam Selangor in Malaysia). The
majority opted for secular institutions such as national schools, polytechnics and
private schools where they study academic subjects such as information
technology, banking and financial services. As the madrasahs in Singapore have
the duty to produce religious teachers and leaders for the Muslim community in
Singapore, the management committee of Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah
decided to focus on developing and encouraging its graduates to continue their
religious study to become religious teachers and leaders. In line with the emphasis
on the religious pathway, the madrasah has enhanced the religious curricular and
content delivery for the religious subjects. However, the emphasis on the religious
pathway does not mean that graduates of the madrasah who choose the non-
religious pathway will be disadvantaged. The madrasah aims to continue to
provide a balanced education that would allow students to pursue either pathway –
to become religious teachers and leaders, or to become Muslim professionals
holding secular jobs.

The second observation about the objective concerns the reference to “a modern
world, secular state and plural society”. The madrasah aims to produce religious
teachers and leaders for a “modern world” – by equipping its students with the
requisite knowledge and skills for a knowledge-based economy. Such a religious
teacher and/or leader is one who is well-versed in both religious and secular
matters, fluent in both the English language and Arabic, and technologically
connected. The reference to “secular state and plural society” highlights the multi-
ethnic, multi-religious and multi-lingual make-up of Singapore. Religious teachers
and leaders, while serving their Muslim community, need to possess a sense of
national identity and promote social cohesion with non-Muslims in Singapore.

Curriculum and Assessment

Students at Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah study both religious and academic
subjects. Religious subjects (Ukhrawi subjects) include subjects such as Arabic,
Quranic Study, and History and Words of Prophet Muhammad. Examples of
academic subjects are English, Mathematics, and Science. In terms of the number
of subjects, primary students take between 8 and 9 subjects, while secondary
students take between 10 and 12 subjects (see Appendix for details).

In terms of formal assessment, all the students in the madrasah sit for the internal
examinations set by the teachers of the madrasah. This includes a mid-year and
final year semester examination, and continual assessments throughout the year.
At the end of Primary 6, all the students will sit for the national examination,
Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE). They will also be required to take
Islamic Religious Education: Case Study of a Madrasah in Singapore 115

the Ibtida’iyyah Examination for Arabic and Religious Knowledge. Secondary

students have to sit for two examinations: the Sijil Thanawi Empat (STE) for
Islamic subjects at the end of Secondary 4, and the GCE ‘O’ level examination for
academic subjects at the end of Secondary 5. These students will be prepared to
qualify for traditional Islamic universities such as Al Azhar university in Egypt
where the medium of instruction is Arabic. To prepare students for entry to Islamic
universities, there are plans by the madrasah to open an Islamic college in the near
future. The Islamic college aims to offer subjects at the pre-university level for
students to pursue their religious training at Islamic universities overseas. The
madrasah hopes to work with Al Azhar University of Egypt in terms of syllabus,
materials and teacher training for a two-year pre-university course.

Key Curricular Changes

Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah has adopted the new curriculum introduced by
MUIS, beginning with the Primary 1 cohort in 2003. A CDMC (Conceptual
Design of Madrasah Curriculum) headed by IQRA foundation was adopted since
2001. CDMC has been developed after much research and consultation with
participating madrasahs. MUIS explained that the new curriculum aims to enable
madrasah students to survive in a highly competitive world and be forward-
thinking religious leaders or professionals in another field of their choice (Albakri,
2006). The plan is to produce the syllabi, textbooks and materials for 12 years of
education from Primary 1 to pre-university 2, involving 156 books and 72
teachers’ guidebooks at a total cost of S$7.3 million. The target is for all Primary 1
students in madrasahs to use the prescribed materials based on a common
curriculum from 2008. Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah is the only madrasah to
have fully adopted the new curriculum since 2002. There are three main changes
in the new curriculum.

Firstly, the medium of instruction for all subjects except Arabic for Primary 1 to 6
students is English. This is a major change from the past where the medium of
instruction, except for English and Malay lessons, is Arabic. The purpose for this
change is to give the primary students a firm foundation in English which is the
language of science and technology in a knowledge-based economy. In line with
the objective of the madrasah to develop potential religious teachers and religious
leaders in a modern world, the use of English in religious subjects will also help
the graduates to internalise their faith and propagate the religion fluently and
confidently in English.

Secondly, special attention is devoted to the strengthening of the teaching of

English, Mathematics and Science in the madrasah. For primary schools, about
60% of the curriculum time is planned for academic subjects and 40% for religious
116 Critical Perspectives on Values Education in Asia

subjects. The change of 60-40 is to allow full exposure to academic subjects. For
Secondary 1 to 4, about 45% is set aside for academic subjects and 55% for
religious subjects. The curriculum time for academic subjects is increased to 70%
at Secondary 5 level as the students have to be prepared for their GCE ‘O’ level
examination (see Appendix for details). Overall, there is an increase for the
curriculum time planned for academic subjects as the ratio was about 50-50 before
the madrasah adopted the new curriculum about six years ago. The madrasah
adopts the MOE syllabi for English, Mathematics and Science so as to help its
students to be on par with the national school students. Teachers also attended
various training programmes and workshops to equip them to teach using the
MOE syllabus and materials. Out of a total of 44 teachers, more than half (24)
have at least a university degree and about one-third (16) have received
professional training. The latter have obtained Diplomas in Education (Dip Ed)
from Edith Cowen University (Australia) and Diplomas in English, Mathematics
and Science (Dip EMS) from the National Institute of Education (NIE) in
Singapore. The Heads of Departments and Vice-Principals have also attended
leadership training at the NIE. All these trainings were funded by MUIS. Most
teachers also continued to upgrade their knowledge and skills by attending various
specialised courses such as Guidance and Counselling Course organised by the
NIE; English Writing Skills by the British Council; Teaching Science and
Mathematics through Stories by the National Book Development Council of
Singapore; Character Development, Discipline, and Essential Skills for Beginning
Teachers by the Singapore Teachers’ Union.

To inculcate a sense of national identity and responsibility, the madrasah has a co-
curricular activity, “Events, National Education and Security” where students learn
about the importance of civil defence in Singapore. The madrasah also organises
activities and games with non-Islamic educational institutions to promote social
cohesion between its students and non-Muslims in Singapore. For example, a
group of Secondary 2 and 3 students from the madrasah met with students from
the United World College (UWC) in 2006 to discuss issues pertaining to social
cohesion. In 2006, their soccer team played against national schools such as
Anglo-Chinese Junior School and Nanyang Junior College, and non-Islamic
school alumni such as the Old Raffles Association.

Discussion

Since the implementation of the new curriculum in 2003, the academic

performances of the students in the madrasah have improved significantly. Table
1 shows the percentage of PSLE passes in English, Mother Tongue Language
(which is the Malay language for Malay students in Singapore), Mathematics and
Islamic Religious Education: Case Study of a Madrasah in Singapore 117

Science for students in the madrasah. There has been a steady increase in the
percentage passes for all the subjects, except for Mother Tongue Language where
the madrasah has maintained 100% pass in three consecutive years.

Table 1: Percentage of PSLE passes in English, Mother Tongue Language, Mathematics

and Science at Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah
__________________________________________________________________
2004 2005 2006
__________________________________________________________________
English 90.4 86.9 95.9
Mother Tongue Language 100.0 100.0 100.0
Mathematics 47.9 51.2 54.6
Science 79.5 70.2 85.6
__________________________________________________________________
Source: Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah

There has also been noticeable improvements at the secondary level. Table 2 gives
the breakdown of the percentage passes in English, Mathematics and Science at
the ‘O’ levels. While there have been improvements across all the three subjects,
the improvement for English is the most remarkable, from 23.3% in 2002 to 92.6%
in 2005.

Table 2: Percentage of ‘O’ level passes in English, Mother Tongue Language, Mathematics
and Science at Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah
__________________________________________________________________
2002 2003 2004 2005
__________________________________________________________________
English 23.3 57.5 56.3 92.6
Mother Tongue Language 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Mathematics 27.9 40.0 53.1 59.3
Science (Physics/Chemistry) 33.3 42.9 46.9 55.6
__________________________________________________________________
Source: Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah

There is a three-fold jump in percentage passes of students with at least 5 ‘O’ level
passes (at least a D7 for each subject) from 20.9% in 2002 to 70.4% in 2005 (see
Table 3).
118 Critical Perspectives on Values Education in Asia

Table 3: Percentage of pupils with at least 5 ‘O’ level passes (including a pass in English)
__________________________________________________________________
2002 2003 2004 2005
__________________________________________________________________
Students in Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah 20.9 40.0 59.4 70.4
Malay students in national schools 58.0 59.0 59.3 62.8
All students in national schools 80.0 81.6 82.7 80.7
_________________________________________________________________
Sources: Ministry of Education, Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah

Table 4 compares the percentage of ‘O’ level passes for English, Mother Tongue
Language and Mathematics for students in Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah,
Malay students in national schools, and all the students in national schools. The
percentage passes for English and Mother Tongue Language at Madrasah Al-
Irsyad Al-Islamiah surpass those of Malay students at national schools, and all the
students in national schools in 2005. However, the performance for Mathematics
at the madrasah lags behind that of Malay students at national schools, and all the
students in national schools.

Table 4: Percentage of ‘O’ level passes in English, Mother Tongue Language and
Mathematics in 2005
__________________________________________________________________
Madrasah Malays in Overall in
Al-Irsyad national schools national schools
Al-Islamiah
__________________________________________________________________
English 92.6 85.1 86.1
Mother Tongue Language 100.0 99.5 96.0
Mathematics 59.3 69.3 88.2
__________________________________________________________________
Sources: Ministry of Education, Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah
Note: The percentage of GCE ‘O’ level passes in other subjects is not available.

What are some factors that account for the consistent improvements in the
academic performance of the students at the madrasah? First, helping students
perform well academically has been a priority for the leaders of the madrasah who
aim to make the madrasah the top choice for Muslim students in Singapore. That
the madrasah has made major changes to the curriculum (especially in the
adoption of English as the medium of instruction) testifies to the determination of
the management committee in helping its students excel academically. The greater
exposure to English, increased curriculum time for English, Mathematics and
Science, and adoption of the MOE syllabi and textbooks have contributed towards
Islamic Religious Education: Case Study of a Madrasah in Singapore 119

the improvements in the PSLE and GCE ‘O’ level results in these subjects. Having
a group of well-trained and dedicated teachers also made a difference in the
success. The provision of remedial and enrichment programmes to assist students
with different learning abilities is also identified as an important factor. A number
of these programmes and courses are implemented in collaboration with Yayasan
Mendaki, a Malay/Muslim self-help body, and MUIS. For example, enrichment
programmes such as writing workshops and other workshops for Mathematics and
Science have been conducted for both students and interested parents.
Underachievers’ programme and High-achievers’ programme were also
introduced for Mathematics. External vendors were also engaged to conduct
weekly lessons and holiday programmes.

Concluding Comments

Using Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah as a case study, this chapter highlighted the
measures taken by a madrasah in Singapore to fulfil its religious mission. The
curricular changes implemented by Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah are primarily
motivated by the demands of a knowledge-based economy since a strong
foundation in mathematics, sciences and languages is crucial for religious teachers,
leaders and professionals to meet the challenges in a knowledge economy. The
curricular revision has also helped Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah to meet the
Compulsory Education requirements in Singapore.

The Compulsory Education Act was enforced from 2003 to make it compulsory
for all children to complete the mandatory six years of primary education in
national secular schools which are under MOE. All children will sit for the PSLE
at the end of six years. Parents who fail to enrol their children in primary schools
shall be subject to counselling, mediation, fines and, in the extreme case, a jail
term. The committee on Compulsory Education in Singapore explains the rationale
for introducing Compulsory Education:

Indeed, a common, basic core of knowledge and skills is of even greater

importance in today’s context, given that we need to provide our children
with a strong foundation for further education and training in a KBE
[knowledge-based economy]. With globalisation, it is also critical to educate
our young to be global players without losing their sense of belonging to
Singapore (Committee on Compulsory Education in Singapore, p. 7).

Madrasahs are not national schools and Muslim children who attend madrasahs on
a full-time basis are exempted from this Act. While Muslim children could remain
in madrasahs and not be forced to attend national schools, they must still meet the
120 Critical Perspectives on Values Education in Asia

minimum performance benchmarks: the average PSLE aggregate scores of Malay

students in the two highest performing academic streams in the six lowest-
performing national schools. The introduction of Compulsory Education means
that madrasahs now have to devote more curriculum time to academic subjects,
especially English, Mathematics and Science. At the same time, the madrasahs, as
Islamic institutions, need to stay true to their mission in teaching Arabic and
Islamic subjects so as to produce religious teachers and leaders for the Muslim
community. Striking a right balance between academic and religious subjects is
the key challenge all the six madrasahs in Singapore are faced with (Tan, 2007a, b).

It is important to note that the curricular changes in Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-

Islamiah were made before Compulsory Education came into the picture. Many
forms of adjustments were made internally in the madrasah, culminating in its
present format of the CDMC project prior to the implementation of Compulsory
Education in 2003. Nevertheless, the curricular changes in Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-
Islamiah have enabled its students to be ready in meeting the performance
benchmarks.

Despite its academic improvements, Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah still faces

some challenges, the first one being the need for it to improve the percentage pass
and quality of grades in English, Mathematics and Science for the primary and
secondary levels. At the primary level, the madrasah has to sustain its good results
especially in English since the requirements of Compulsory Education will only
take effect from 2008. Despite improvements over the years in Mathematics, the
students at the madrasah are still relatively weak in Mathematics. Only 51.2% of
students in the madrasah passed PSLE Mathematics, as compared to 88.2% of
students in national schools who scored grades A to C in 2005. Likewise, although
the madrasah has improved the percentage pass for ‘O’ level Mathematics in
recent years (from 27.9% in 2002 to 59.3% in 2005), its performance for this
subject still lags behind that of students in national schools (59.3% in the madrasah
as compared to 88.2% in national schools in 2005).

Another challenge for the teachers in the madrasah is to adapt to the new medium
of instruction, from Arabic to English. The switch from Arabic to English is not
easy for a number of religious teachers as they were trained in Arabic, and have
taught in Arabic all these years. The madrasah is also constantly in need of
qualified and committed Muslim teachers and educators who are willing to work
in a madrasah where the salaries and career prospects are less attractive compared
to what the national schools offer. There is also a need to encourage greater
participation from the educational stakeholders, especially the parents. Under the
Parents Support Group (PSG) programme, parents are encouraged to be involved
in the madrasah but so far, it is mostly parents of primary students who are
Islamic Religious Education: Case Study of a Madrasah in Singapore 121

involved. It is a challenge to get more parents of secondary students to participate

in activities organised by the madrasah and to serve as volunteers.

There is also the perennial concern over funding. As a private school, the
madrasah is not given any funding by the government, and its students do not
qualify for the Edusave Scheme introduced by MOE. The Edusave Scheme
provides students and schools with funds to pay for enrichment programmes or to
purchase additional resources. A small portion of the funding comes from the
Madrasah Fund administered by MUIS. Consequently, the madrasah has to rely on
self-funding, with 30% of the income coming from the school fees. Each primary
student is charged S$60 per month, while each secondary school student is
charged S$80 per month. But the madrasah does not receive the full school fees
from every student as there are students in the madrasah who are unable to afford
the school fees. In such cases, the madrasah has to subsidise the school fees for
them. About 70% of the income come from fund-raising activities by the
madrasah. The under-funding of the madrasah means that the madrasah lacks
sufficient funds for resources such as library books, teaching materials, computers
(the madrasah has no computer and only two laptops that students could borrow
during school hours), and enrichment activities.

As the madrasah strives to help its students academically, it has to ensure that the
students are also well-prepared to be religious teachers and leaders. This means
that the students should have a good grasp of Arabic, be well-versed in religious
subjects, and be motivated enough to pursue further religious training at the
madrasah’s Islamic college and/or Islamic universities overseas. At this stage, it is
early days to tell if the adoption of English as the medium of instruction and the
increased curriculum time for academic subjects have any negative effect on the
students’ learning of Arabic and religious subjects. It is perhaps this concern that
has deterred other madrasahs in Singapore from whole-heartedly adopting the
curriculum proposed by MUIS. Time will tell if the new curriculum adopted by
Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah can help it to achieve its objective of preparing its
graduates to be religious teachers and leaders who are also successful in academic
subjects. The developments and success of the madrasah will be much anticipated
and discussed in the religious education landscape of Singapore in the years to
come.

Acknowledgement

The authors are thankful to the Chairman, Mr. Razak Bin Lazim, principal, vice-
principals, Heads of Department and teachers of Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah
for providing useful information on the madrasah for this chapter.
122 Critical Perspectives on Values Education in Asia

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implications. Education, Citizenship and Social Justice, 2(1), 23-39.
Islamic Religious Education: Case Study of a Madrasah in Singapore 123

Appendix

Subject combination and period allocation at Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-

Islamiah in 2007

Primary 1-6
LEVEL P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6
COURSE /
GEN GEN GEN GEN GEN GEN GEN GEN PSLE PSLE PSLE PSLE PSLE
CERTIFICATE
P1 P1 P2 P2 P3 P3 P4 P4
CLASS P5 IM P5 IH P6 IM P6 IH P6 IT
IM IH IM IH IM IH IM IH
ENGLISH
12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12
LANGUAGE
MALAY
10 10 10 10 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
LANGUAGE
MATHEMATICS /
10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
E MATHS
SCIENCE / SC (PHY-
4 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 6
CHEM)
GEOGRAPHY
PHYSICAL
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
EDUCATION
SUB-TOTAL FOR
ACADEMIC 34 34 34 34 36 36 36 36 35 35 36 36 36
SUBJECTS
AL-LUGHATUL
10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
ARABIAH & NAHU
QIRAAH
AL-QURAN 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
ULUMUL QURAN
QIRAATI 2 2 2 2 2 2
TILAWAH 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
CONTACT 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
TARBIYAH (AFA-SH-
8 8 8 8 6 6 6 6 7 7 6 6 6
QS-ISS)
SUB-TOTAL FOR
RELIGIOUS 23 23 23 23 21 21 21 21 22 22 21 21 21
SUBJECTS
TOTAL 57 57 57 57 57 57 57 57 57 57 57 57 57

Notes: One period is 30 minutes. “Contact” is not a subject but is the time set
aside for the form teacher to meet his/her students for administrative and other
matters.
 124 Critical Perspectives on Values Education in Asia

Secondary 1-5
LEVEL S1 S2 S3 S4 S5
COURSE / GCE GCE
GEN GEN GEN GEN GEN GEN STE STE STE STE
CERTIFICATE O O
S1 S1 S1 S2 S2 S2 S3 S3 S4 S4 S5 S5
CLASS
IM IH IT IM IH IT IM IH IM IH IM IH
ENGLISH
8 8 8 8 8 8 6 6 6 6 10 10
LANGUAGE
MALAY
6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
LANGUAGE
MATHEMATICS / E
6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 10 10
MATHS
SCIENCE / SC (PHY-
6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 8 8
CHEM)
GEOGRAPHY 2 2 2 2 5 5
PHYSICAL
EDUCATION
SUB-TOTAL FOR
ACADEMIC 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 39 39
SUBJECTS
AL-LUGHATUL
11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 6 6
ARABIAH & NAHU
QIRAAH 3 3 3 3 3 3
AL-QURAN 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
ULUMUL QURAN 2 2
QIRAATI
TILAWAH 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
CONTACT 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
TARBIYAH (AFA-SH-QS-
ISS)
TAFSIR 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
FIQH 3 3 3 3 3 3
FIQH-
6 6 6 6
FARAID
USUL
2 2
FIQH
TAUHID 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2
HADITH 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2
MUSTOLAH
2 2 2 2
HADITH
ISLAMIC RELIG
5 5
KNOWLEDGE
SUB-TOTAL FOR
RELIGIOUS 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 18 18
SUBJECTS
TOTAL 57 57 57 57 57 57 57 57 57 57 57 57

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