Nurturing future religious scholars and teachers for our Muslim community

Question

Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs (a) what is the total number of Primary 1 student applications received for enrolment into the six full-time madrasahs for the next academic year; (b) out of the total number, how many successful applicants are there; and (c) whether there are plans to increase the annual intake and, if so, how does MUIS plan to assist or facilitate the six full-time madrasahs so that they can have proper and adequate means and resources to accommodate any planned increases.

Response

1. Minister Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: For academic year 2016, the total number of Primary 1 student applications to the six full-time madrasahs was 569. The madrasahs conduct admission tests to ensure that prospective students will be able to cope well with the demands of the curriculum in madrasahs – which include both compulsory religious and secular subjects. Through these tests, 391 have been accepted for enrolment in 2016.

2. Our madrasahs aim to nurture future religious scholars and teachers to serve the socio-religious needs of our Muslim community effectively, and provide leadership in Singapore's key Muslim institutions, such as our mosques, madrasahs, and MUIS.

3. At current enrolment numbers, our madrasahs are more than able to serve the community's needs. Hence, there are no plans to increase the annual Primary 1 intake of madrasah students.  Our key focus will be for MUIS to work closely with the madrasahs to raise the quality of education. Prime Minister recently highlighted that the Government is also studying how to help raise the quality for secular subjects. This will help ensure that future religious scholars and teachers will be steeped not just in religious knowledge, but also well-grounded in secular knowledge and a deep understanding of Singapore's multi-racial context, within broader global developments.