Collections and Use of Monies for Madrasah Fund

Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap asked the Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs (a) if he can provide details on the annual amounts collected from the Dana Madrasah (Madrasah Fund) from 2006-2012; (b) what is the amount disbursed to each of the six full-time madrasahs; and (c) whether the Fund has served its purpose of uplifting the educational standards of full-time madrasahs since its establishment in 1994.

The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) provides financial grants and assistance for the six full-time madrasahs. In 1994, MUIS introduced the Dana Madrasah (DM), or Madrasah Fund, to further uplift the quality of our madrasahs. Between 2006 and 2012, about $7 million was collected, or an average of about $1 million annually. The amount provided to each madrasah varies, depending on needs. In 2012, $1.04 million was disbursed to the six madrasahs.

Funding from DM is used for student and teacher development, as these are key to improving the overall quality of madrasah education. Fully-sponsored professional training is provided for teachers, heads of department and principals. By end 2013, 100% of full-time madrasah teachers would have completed the Specialist Diploma Programme at the National Institute of Education (NIE). DM funding is also used to provide remedial and enrichment lessons for students preparing for PSLE, improve library facilities as well as organise enrichment activities.

DM, together with the various grants and assistance schemes MUIS provides, has enabled our full-time madrasahs to constantly improve their standards. This is evident from the better performance of our madrasah students at PSLE. Their PSLE passing rate has increased from 88.2% in 2011 to 91% in 2012.