Muis to distribute US$500,000 to Singapore madrasahs

The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) will disburse S$500,000 to the six full-time madrasahs* in Singapore due to COVID-19. This one-off disbursement, in view of the challenges faced by the madrasah sector during the ongoing pandemic, will go towards supporting the madrasahs' student programmes. About 3,500** madrasah students will benefit from this support.

Madrasahs rely heavily on the support of the community. They are supported through school fees and grants from various sources such as the Mosque Building and Mendaki Fund (MBMF), Baitulmal, zakat, Dana Madrasah, Wakaf Ilmu and government funding***. These mostly go towards madrasahs' manpower and training expenses. Madrasahs regularly undertake fundraising to supplement the shortfall for the school operational and student programme needs.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, madrasahs have had to suspend or cancel several fundraising events. It was also more difficult for donors to come physically to the madrasahs to donate. This has resulted in a substantial shortfall in revenue from typical fundraising sources and donation drives, such as collection during Friday congregational prayers. In addition, the implementation of safe management measures at the madrasahs has increased their operational costs.

In view of this, Muis had earlier worked with the madrasahs to develop and launch the OurMadrasah.sg portal on 4 December 2020. The community public education and fundraising portal aims to expand outreach and update the public about Singapore's madrasahs through videos, articles and writeups. The platform also serves to provide a seamless payment gateway which will be easier for the community to make one-off or recurring donations via credit or debit card, eNETS, PayNow and GIRO.

Over the last few weeks, about S$50,000 has already been raised online. Muis said. Donors can choose the madrasah they wish to donate to, or request that the money is distributed across all madrasahs.

Esa Masood, Chief Executive of Muis, said: "As key institutions for the Muslim community in Singapore, our madrasah leaders,teachers and students have adapted well to the challenging situation over the past year and have continued to perform well. This disbursement signifies Muis' continued support for our madrasahs. We urge the community to rally together and continue to stand in solidarity with our madrasahs so that they can continue the important work to nurture the next generation of asatizah to guide our community."

Asatizah refer to religious teachers.

Details:

Support madrasahs in the 2021 academic year

*The six full-time madrasahs are Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah, Madrasah Alsagoff Al-Arabiah, Madrasah Al Arabiah Al-Islamiah, Madrasah Irsyad Zuhri Al-Islamiah, Madrasah Al-Ma’arif Al-Islamiah and Madrasah Wak Tanjong Al-Islamiah.

**Data from madrasah returns in June 2020.

***This specifically covers Edusave and teacher development for secular subjects (See the Singapore Prime Minister’s speeches at the 2013 and 2015 National Day Rallies respectively).

Muis reports madrasah PSLE results for 2018

A total of 251 Singaporean madrasah students sat for the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) this year, and 243 (96.8%) will be going on to secondary school.

Muis will continue to extend its PSLE Assistance Package to all full-time madrasahs. The package was introduced in 2007 and provides funding for supplemental education madrasah students in primary 5 and primary 6 for PSLE-related workshops and supplementary learning activities. In 2018, Muis extended S$300 per student, or S$161,100, to 537 primary 5 and 6 madrasah students.

In Singapore, madrasahs provide basic Islamic education. They are intended to produce the religious elites to lead the community on religious matters. Every madrasah must meet a specific PSLE benchmark to qualify for its status as a school that offers primary education.

There are six full-time madrasahs and 27 part-time mosque madrasahs. Four of the full-time madrasahs have primary school students: Madrasah Irsyad Zuhri Al-Islamiah, Madrasah Al-Ma’arif Al-Islamiah, Madrasah Alsagoff Al-Arabiah and Madrasah Wak Tanjong Al-Islamiah.

The other two full-time madrasahs, Madrasah Al-Arabiah and Madrasah Aljunied, voluntarily stopped admission of primary 1 students from 2009 onwards, and do not have 2018 PSLE candidates. Madrasah Wak Tanjong will not have primary 6 students till 2020.

Primary 1 Joint Madrasah Admission Exercise for 2019 begins

Madrasah Al-Ma’arif Al-Islamiah, Madrasah Alsagoff Al-Arabiah, Madrasah Irsyad Zuhri Al-Islamiah and Madrasah Wak Tanjong Al-Islamiah are conducting the Primary 1 Joint Madrasah Admission Exercise for the 2019 school year.

A joint effort between the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura, Muis), and the four full-time madrasahs offering primary level education, the exercise allows interested parents and legal guardians with eligible children to apply to the madrasahs online.

Children born on or between 2 January 2012 and 1 January 2013 are invited to apply to one of the four madrasahs for admission to primary 1 in 2018 via their websites:

Source: Muis. Logos for the four madrasahs. From left: Madrasah Irsyad Zuhri Al-Islamiah, Madrasah Al-Ma'arif Al-Islamiah, Madrasah Wak Tanjong Al-Islamiah and Madrasah Alsagoff Al-Arabiah.

Madrasah Al-Ma'arif Al-Islamiah, 3 Lorong 39 Geylang, Singapore 387865

Madrasah Alsagoff Al-Arabiah, 111 Jalan Sultan, Singapore 199006

Madrasah Wak Tanjong Al-Islamiah, 589 Sims Ave Singapore, Singapore 387600

Madrasah Irsyad Zuhri Al-Islamiah, Singapore Islamic Hub, 277, Braddell Road, Singapore 579711

Details:

Interested parents and guardians may choose to fill in the online application form at their choice madrasah’s website. The deadline is 6 April. 

Application Period	24 March – 6 April 2018
Test Date	14 April 2018
Application Result	14 May 2018
Period of Appeal	21 – 26 May 2018
Registration Date	2 June 2018

Get more information on the admission process

Muis shares PSLE figures, Islamic education fund growth

The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) has announced on its Facebook page that out of 264 Singaporean religious school (madrasah) students who sat for the primary school leaving examination (PSLE) this year, 98.5% have been assessed suitable to proceed to secondary school. This in an increase of 0.3% from last year.

Madrasahs that offered PSLE this year attained scores higher than the PSLE benchmark set by Ministry of Education, Muis said.

Muis also shared earlier in the month that 505 students have benefitted from the Islamic Education Fund (IEF) this year as a result of enhancements to the scheme. The IEF was introduced in 2004 to ensure that Islamic education (IE) classes at mosque-based madrasahs remain affordable.

In total, about 4,100 students will benefit from the S$1.4 million to be disbursed this year. This amount is 10% higher than in the preceding year and is the largest amount disbursed thus far, made possible by zakat contributions from the Singapore Muslim community.

Five principals who are coordinating the 38 aLIVE centres were given approval letters for disbursement by Singapore Mufti Dr Fatris Bakaram at a IEF disbursement ceremony. Dr Fatris also presented the inaugural Virtuous Student Award to 62 students during the same ceremony. Award winners have displayed exemplary attributes and portrayed excellence towards in the pursuit of Islamic knowledge.

Applications open for primary 1 admission to Singapore madrasahs in 2018

The Primary 1 Madrasah Application Exercise 2018 is now in effect. A joint effort between the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura, Muis), and the four full-time madrasahs offering primary level education, the exercise allows interested parents and legal guardians with eligible children to apply to the madrasahs online.

Children born on or between 2 January 2011 and 1 January 2012 are invited to apply to one of the four madrasahs for admission to primary 1 in 2018 via their websites:

Source: Muis. Logos for the four madrasahs.

Madrasah Irsyad Zuhri Al-Islamiah, Singapore Islamic Hub, 277, Braddell Road, Singapore 579711

Madrasah Al-Ma'arif Al-Islamiah, 3 Lorong 39 Geylang, Singapore 387865

Madrasah Wak Tanjong Al-Islamiah, 589 Sims Ave Singapore, Singapore 387600

Alsagoff Arab School, 111 Jalan Sultan, Singapore 199006

• An administrative fee is charged for every application
• A qualifying test will be conducted at the chosen madrasah
• Successful applicants will be required register at the respective madrasahs on the date and time specified.
• Unsuccessful applicants must ensure that the child/ward is registered in a national school as required by the Compulsory Education Act (Cap 51).

Application Period	25 March – 31 March 2017
Test Date	8 April 2017
Application Result	*8 May 2017
Period of Appeal	15 – 27 May 2017
Registration Date	3 Jun 2017

*Results will be released sometime within that week.

Interested?

View the list of required documents

Funds sought to accommodate 200 special-needs students in Islamic classes this year

Source: MIJ crowdfunding page. Kinaesthetic learning in action.

Singapore-based My Islamic Journey (MIJ) Education Hub, established in 2011, is running a crowdfunding campaign to pay for better facilities and services around Islamic education for special needs children and adults.

The facility offers weekly Islamic classes conducted by qualified asatizahs who are also certified in early-childhood and special-needs education. The special-needs students are individuals aged 5 to 25 who may be on the autism spectrum or have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, Down's syndrome or global developmental delays (GDD). The classes focus on
unambiguous, explicit teaching strategies, individual learning strengths as well as preferred learning styles.

"We believe that all students can learn.. just perhaps not on the same day or the same way," runs a statement on the MIJ website.

MIJ has more than 200 students enrolled this year for seerah, fiqh (فقه) - the theory of Islamic law, tauheed (توحيد) - the concept of monotheism - and Quran memorisation classes, but MIJ's current premises is too small for an enrolment of this size. Rather than turn anyone away, MIJ is now seeking funds for a bigger space that will be renovated to accommodate their students' learning challenges.

It needs about US$105,000 to fully expand the school but will work with whatever amount is raised. MIJ already relies on donations to subsidise lessons for students from low-income or working-class families. Only 27 of MIJ's 200 students are currently paying the full fees.

The proposed space is to have therapy and gym rooms to help special-needs students who are kinaesthetic learners*. The funds will also help the school buy equipment and teaching aids, with the money budgeted as follows:

US$21,000: therapy and gym rooms
US$21,000: teaching materials, audio-visual aids, computers and other teaching aids
US$49,000: renovations
US$14,000: office/school equipment

Programmes offered by MIJ include Tafsir & Hadith for Ladies, Quranic Tahsin for Ladies, Basic Quranic Literacy for Ladies, Fiqh & Solat for Youths and Young Muslims, Arabic tuition for madrasah students and a Muslim toddlers’ club.

The founders of MIJ, Faraliza Zainal and Ali Dawood, are themselves parents of a special needs teen. Their son is autistic and is now learning to call the adhan (أَذَان‎‎, the call to prayer before salah). He communicates and performs his salah (صلاة, the five obligatory daily prayers) diligently.

Interested?

MIJ is at 61, Ubi Ave 2, AML Building, #08-06 Singapore 408898

Donate to MIJ by end-February 2017 - the goal stated on the crowd-funding page is US$40,000, short of the budgeted amount.

*A kinaesthetic learner is one who can register and process information the most via physical movement.

Madrasah students receive Muis awards for doing well in 2015 examinations

According to the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis), 26 madrasah (religious school) students recently received Progress Fund Madrasah Assistance Scheme (PROMAS) Performance Awards for excellent results in the 2015 examinations.

A total of S$341,000 has been distributed to all six madrasahs to support the educational and developmental needs of children from zakah-receiving families.

The news was announced on Muis' Facebook page.

All Singapore Islamic religious schools have met criteria to take in students for the 2018-2020 session

All four madrasahs that offered the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) for their students in 2015 have attained scores higher than the Madrasah PSLE benchmark set by the Ministry of Education*, reports the Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (Muis), the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore. 

Madrasah Alsagoff Al-Arabiah, Madrasah Irsyad Zuhri Al-Islamiah, Madrasah AlMaarif Al-Islamiah and Madrasah Wak Tanjong Al-Islamiah also passed the 2014 benchmark within the 2014 to 2016 three-year assessment period, enabling all four religious schools to enroll Primary 1 students for the 2018-2020 session. 

Out of the 280 Singaporean Primary 6 students who sat for the PSLE this year, 275 students (or 98.2%) are assessed suitable to proceed to secondary school. Muis will continue to extend its PSLE Assistance Package to all four full-time madrasahs whose students will be taking the PSLE in the coming year, the council said.

*Under the Compulsory Education Act, a madrasah’s average PSLE aggregate score must meet the PSLE benchmark to continue admitting Primary 1 students exempted from national schooling. The PSLE benchmark is pegged at the average PSLE aggregate score of Malay pupils in the six lowest-performing national primary schools who take four standard-level subjects. To be able to take in Primary 1 students, the madrasah must meet the PSLE benchmark at least twice in every three-year period.

ERC provides infrastructure in Palestine

The Emirates News Agency (WAM) has reported that the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) organisation recently completed three development projects worth more than AED3.8 million in Palestine.

The projects include the construction of a two-storey and two-minaret mosque in Deir Qaddis west of Ramallah, to serve 1,200 worshippers; an additional storey for the girls' school in Deir Istiya town in the Salfit Governorate, to accommodate an additional 500 students; and 100 water wells to serve 100 farming families in villages in Hebron Governorate, southern West Bank.

Dubai Cares spruces up Ahmad Bin Rashid Primary School

As part of Volunteer Emirates 2015, a Dubai Cares local community engagement initiative, 100 volunteers from around the UAE visited the Ahmad Bin Rashid Primary School in Umm Al Quwain to give the boys' school a significant facelift. Volunteer Emirates brings together UAE-based volunteers to upgrade the learning environments of public schools around the UAE.

The second edition of Volunteer Emirates 2015 was sponsored by Visa, which supported Dubai Cares and the volunteer group that travelled to Umm Al Quwain to undertake the maintenance and landscaping work in the school premises. Led by Dubai Cares, the volunteers painted over 160 tyres to outline the school football field and helped install tables and chairs, sports equipment, computers, lab equipment as well as playground facilities in the school. To brighten up the hallways and school grounds, the volunteers also painted murals around the school and landscaped the outdoor areas.

Thanking the volunteers for their efforts, Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Cares said: "I would like to commend all the volunteers who put in a lot of hard work and creativity into giving the Ahmad Bin Rashid Primary School in Umm Al Quwain a new look. As an organisation committed to facilitating quality primary education for children in developing countries, we understand the importance of a safe, creative and stimulating learning environment. Having schools that help students discover and explore all their talents – be it sports, art or academics – is key to quality educational experience. We are grateful to Visa for empowering us and the volunteers to successfully conduct this edition of Volunteer Emirates 2015."

Marcello Baricordi, General Manager - UAE and Global Accounts Lead, Visa MENA said: "Visa is delighted to support the second edition of Dubai Cares Volunteer Emirates 2015, which is truly commendable given its impact and reach across schools in the country. The efforts of the volunteers, including Visa employees, to improve the school's facilities and surroundings will go a long way in making the children's academic lives better and memorable. Dubai Cares focus on education is one we identify with and invest in through Visa's financial literacy programme in the UAE and across the world. In the years ahead, we will continue to pursue efforts to be locally responsible citizens through community development in all the markets we are present in."

Mariam Saif Al Ghefali, Principal, Ahmad Bin Rashid Primary School said: "Volunteering is a national duty of the citizens and expatriates in the UAE. It is a social responsibility that is part and parcel of our human values. Dubai Cares' initiative is aligned to the vision of the leadership of the UAE, who aim to develop the country into one of the best by 2021. With the help of the management and volunteers of Dubai Cares, we have been able to accomplish a lot of work that will add value to the learning experience of the students."

"It is very important to give back to the community. This initiative will make the children happy and helps us invest our time in socially critical work," said Eman Al Awadhi, a volunteer at the event.

"I believe a lot in providing an enjoyable atmosphere for children while they study, and what is better than colours and paints and having the walls fuel their imagination. These murals are just a small part of that so I hope that this helps them to think larger, just the way that Dubai actually does – larger than everything that can ever be imagined," stated volunteer Mridula Gummuluri.

"Voluteering is something we have been doing for a while now because it is the way we are giving back for the blessings we have received. We work in Dubai and by giving back through Dubai Cares, we are able to give back to the local community," said Ericson Tolentino.

Dubai Cares kicked off Volunteer Emirates 2015 in March by refurbishing the ZamZam School for girls in Kharan, Ras Al Khaimah. The activity attracted 100 volunteers who worked together to enhance the gym, outdoors and classrooms for the school's 600 students.

Residents of the UAE interested in taking part in the 3rd and last edition of Volunteer Emirates 2015 can register online.

Rahmatan Lil 'Alamin Foundation spearheads charity drive for Syrian refugee children

Source: MUIS.

The Rahmatan Lil 'Alamin Foundation (RLAF), in collaboration with mosques in Singapore, has kicked off a fund-raiser in aid of Syrian refugee children.

Part of an initial fund-raising effort in April this year, which netted S$240,000, was used to send relief in the form of food packages, hot food, medicines, clean water, school packages, and household items. 

S$150,000 has been set aside for the establishment of a school for children of Syrian refugees in the border town of Kilis in Southeastern Turkey. "This school will help to restore some semblance of normality, sanity and confidence in the hearts and minds of the young children," the charity said in a statement. "To make this school project possible, we will need to raise at least S$350,000 for the building, facilities and equipment needed for the school."

Donation boxes marked Singapore Muslim Community’s Special Collection for School Project for Children of Syrian Refugees have been placed at all 68 mosques till 11 December 2014. Those who are not able to make their contribution at the mosque can also offer their donation in cash or by cheque. The cheque should be made payable to “RLAF” with the words Special Collection In Aid of Syrian Refugees written on its back. The cash and cheques can be delivered to the MUIS building at the Singapore Islamic Hub, No. 273, Braddell Road Singapore 579702. In addition, members of the community can also make their contributions online via www.muis.gov.sg/epayment/Donations.aspx.

The RLAF is working with Kimse Yok Mu, a Turkish humanitarian agency, and Aid to Syrian Refugees in Turkey (ASRIT) for the project. Kimse Yok Mu will provide the teaching staff, remuneration and all the utilities needed for the school. Registration of students has already begun.

OIC benchmarking study identifies areas that could improve economies

The fifty-seven countries that form the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) account for 23% of the world's population, but under 11% of the world's GDP. These results, part of a benchmarking study from the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management and the Saudi Arabia-based Madinah Institute for Leadership and Entrepreneurship (MILE), were revealed on June 24. 

The study aims to better understand the factors which underlie the economic performance of the world's Muslim economies. Working with a group of Rotman MBA students including Abhishek Chaudhary, MBA'14; Omer Saleem Morning MBA'15; and Ash Zare, Evening MBA'15, Professor Walid Hejazi from the Rotman School and Imran Zawwar from MILE benchmarked the fifty-seven OIC countries on over 100 indicators, finding that countries such as the UAE, Bahrain, and Qatar rank among the world's best economies on many dimensions, and Malaysia and Turkey on others. In countries with significant poverty, there are also significantly higher probabilities of self-employment.

Researchers also found that the OIC countries:

• have average incomes which are less than half the world average;
• rank below global averages on institutional development, including voice and accountability, political stability, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law and control of corruption (World Bank Governance Indicators);
• rank unfavourably on the ease of doing business;
• lag world averages on literacy and education, particularly among females;
• while not lagging world averages on labour market participation rates for males, there is a significant gap for females; and,
• lag other developing nations on R&D efforts.

"Together these factors are capable of explaining a large part of the gap between incomes in the Muslim world and the developed world. The implications of these analyses underscore the need for efforts to improve these indicators across the Muslim world," says Prof. Hejazi. 

"We hope our systematic and comprehensive analysis will allow for the creation of well-informed and feasible policies to enhance the economic performance of the world's Muslim countries. As is well known, as incomes rise and countries develop, institutions tend to improve, resulting in improvements in political stability, human rights and a whole host of other indicators."

The study is the first from a collaboration between MILE and Rotman. More reports are planned for release over the next year.