General information

Background on the madrasah system

Singapore’s six full-time madrasahs play an important role in producing religious scholars and religious teachers for the Muslim community. To achieve this, the Muslim community believes that it is essential for education to begin at a young age, during the compulsory school-age years.

In Singapore, children of school-age years must attend a national primary school, and parents may face legal consequences if their child does not regularly attend a national primary school, unless the child qualifies for an exemption from compulsory education.

Compulsory education

Under the Compulsory Education Act 2000 (CE Act 2000), Compulsory Education (CE) is defined as education in national primary schools for Singapore citizens residing in Singapore.

Your child must attend a national primary school regularly if they are:

• Of compulsory school age (above 6 years old and under 15 years old)

• A Singapore citizen

• Born after 1 January 1996

• Living in Singapore

What are national primary schools?

• Government or government-aided primary schools

• Government-funded special education schools offering primary level education

Madrasah curriculum

The curricula in the full-time madrasahs cover both secular and religious subjects. At the primary level, madrasahs are required to meet minimum PSLE performance benchmarks set by the Ministry of Education (MOE). Overall, madrasah curricula are designed to fulfil their main goal of producing religious scholars and religious teachers for the Muslim community. Because of this, madrasah students have longer curriculum hours as compared to national schools.

Here is a comparison of the subject offerings between national schools and madrasahs:

Due to the additional subjects that a madrasah student will need to learn, parents should be in a position to provide active support and guidance for your child’s growth and development. For example, parents conversant in Arabic should speak it at home to increase your child’s exposure to the language.

An education centred on Ad-deen: Preparing for socio-religious careers in a knowledge-based economy

Each of the six madrasahs has its own unique history, identity, vision and focus. However, they all share a common philosophy: An education rooted in the Islamic tradition and values (Ad-deen) with a forward-looking and progressive modern outlook in preparation for the knowledge-based economy of today. While our full-time madrasahs remain centred on Ad-deen, they continue to adapt and evolve with the changes in the national education landscape that prepare our children to thrive in a fast-moving economy. Evidently, our madrasahs today have also progressed in the delivery of Singapore’s national curriculum in the academic subjects such as English, Mathematics, Science and Mother Tongue from primary to the pre-university level. The Islamic studies curriculum has also evolved with the times, taking into consideration the context of Singapore’s socio-cultural realities.

Each madrasah offers something different for parents and your children. There are two main options for parents deciding the most suitable madrasah education pathway for your child: The Joint Madrasah System (JMS) and a through-train curriculum programme.

For more information, you may read the following madrasah education guide.