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 Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah

Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah is a full-time co-ed madrasah offering both primary and secondary school education. Madrasah is an Arabic word that means "school". However, in the present context a madrasah means an Islamic Religious school. “Irsyad” means rightly guided in Arabic. Like the 5 other full-time madrasahs in Singapore (Aljunied Al-Islamiah, Alsagoff Al-Islamiah, Al-Arabiah Al-Islamiah, Al-Maarif Al-Islamiah and Madrasah Wak Tanjong Al-Islamiah), Irsyad is a private school which offers its students a unique education comprising both ukhrawi (Islamic religious) subjects such as Arabic Language and Revelation Studies, as well as duniawi (secular) subjects like English, Maths and Science. Irsyad's students take both secular and ukhrawi national exams. Many of its graduates move on to further their studies in Islamic Universities overseas and return to become asatizahs (religious teachers), while many too have made it to the local polytechnics and universities and became professionals in a wide range of occupations. It celebrated its 60th Anniversary last year and is currently operating temporarily at Winstedt Road (Near Newton MRT station), while its permanent campus at the Singapore Islamic Hub is being built.

History
Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah just celebrated its 60th Anniversary in 2007. In its 60 years of existence, Irsyad has overcome countless trials and tribulations in its bid to continue providing quality Islamic education. The following is a brief summary of the key events in its tumultuous history.

Mahadul Irsyad (1947-1990)
Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah was not always known as such. It was initially founded as Mahadul Irsyad at Hindhede Road (off Upper Bukit Timah Road) where the village called Kampong Quarry used to be. It was just a small village school with an enrolment of about 50 students and was set up to provide basic Quran and Islamic knowledge to the villagers. Its education system was adopted from Johor, Malaysia, but starting from 1965, upon the suggestion of the then President of Singapore Mr Yusof Ishak, it was changed gradually to suit its needs. Unlike other madrasahs such as Aljunied and Alsagoff, Irsyad was not funded by wealthy Arabs and thus had to struggle to raise funds for the maintenance of the school ever since its onset. According to Ustaz Idris Bin Hj Ahmad, the Principal of Mahadul Irsyad in the 1950s and 60s, teachers and villagers used to raise funds by selling paper flowers from door to door at Malay areas such as Geylang, Jalan Tempeh and Race Course.

Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah, Woodlands Road campus (1991-1996)
In 1991, many villages, including the village Irsyad was in, were affected by urban redevelopment projects. The madrasah was shifted to an old, unused government school at Woodlands Road and simultaneously renamed Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah. It started focussing on solely primary school education and increased its enrolment to around 400 students, though it remained a single-session school. By then, it had also come under the management of the Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS), also known as Islamic Religious Council of Singapore. MUIS is a statutory board in charge of handling Muslim affairs.

It was at this campus that the madrasah accomplished many firsts. For instance, although 50% of the curriculum was still dedicated to religious subjects, the General Curriculum from the Ministry of Education (MOE) was adopted for the secular subjects such that the students could sit for the PSLE. Ustaz Ahmad Sonhadji Mohamad, the then Chairman of Irsyad, contributed significantly to the Muslim population in Singapore by introducing Iqra'. Iqra' is a methodology of learning to read the Quran rapidly.

Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah, Windstedt Road (1996- )


In 1996, just when Irsyad was settling down in its Woodlands campus, it was again shaken by the tremors of urbanization. This time, the construction of the LRT system entailed the widening of Woodlands Road, and forced Irsyad to shift yet again. This time, it was relocated to one of the two old buildings at Windstedt road. Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah was then occupying the other building. The change in location catalysed more changes such as the switch to double-sessions due to space constraints and the introduction of a standardised school uniforms to differentiate between Irsyad and Aljunied students.

In 1998, Irsyad had its first batch of Secondary 1 students due to increased demand for madrasah education. This increased the enrolment further to 900 students. Previously, most of Irsyad's graduates continued their secondary school education at Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah. The curriculum for secondary school students was designed such that they would sit for the Secondary Four Certificate examination (more commonly known as Sijil Thanawi Empat (STE)) conducted by MUIS, and the General Certificate of Education 'O'Level (GCE ‘O’Level) at the end of Secondary 5.

In 1999, further changes to the primary level curriculum were made with Islamic subjects at lower primary level being taught in Malay rather than Arabic.

In 2003, MOE implemented the Compulsory Education (CE) Act. Under this act, all children, regardless of those attending national schools or madrasahs, have to sit for the PSLE. To better prepare for that eventuality, Irsyad was the first madrasah to introduce a new integrated religious curriculum for the primary school. It was developed and produced by MUIS and uses English as the medium of instruction.

Vision and Shared Values


Vision: First Choice in Madrasah Education

Philosophy: Every Child Can!

Motto: Strength and Honour

Desired Outcome of Education: Khalifah Fil-Ard (translation: Caliph of the Earth)

Shared Values:

1. God-conscious

2. People-centred

3. Excellence-driven

The School Song
Betraying its village school roots, the Irsyad school song is in Malay. It was composed while the school was at Hinhede Road by Cikgu A. Wahab Hamzah, Ms Faridah Ahmad and an ex-student Fazly A. Rahman. It depicts rather poignantly the struggles that Irsyad has had and will have to overcome, and the vision of the school. Below are the original lyrics in Malay followed by the English translation:

Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah

di sini kau berdiri gagah

setelah hampir rebah dipukul badai kemajuan

setelah hampir rebah dipukul badai kemajuan

Ketika kau terkapai-kapai mencari dahan berpaut

ada tangan-tangan suci menarik jari-jemarimu

ada tangan-tangan suci membangunkan kau kembali

Dalam dakapanmu kami berdiri

di telaga ilmumu kami mencari

keunggulan manusia dari zaman berzaman

dalam dada para guru yang mewajahimu

buat bekal dunia akhirat

Bukalah pintumu lebar-lebar bersama wajah barumu

hamparkanlah permaidani di sepanjang jalan berduri

menuju ke puncak insan berilmu di maya ini

hamparkanlah permaidani di sepanjang jalan berduri

menuju ke puncak insan menuju ke jalan Ilahi

English Translation

Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah

here you stand tall

after almost toppling due to urbanization

after almost toppling due to urbanization

When you were reaching for a saving line

there were pure hands reaching out for your fingers

there were pure hands building you up again

In your embrace we stand

at your well of knowledge we find

the magnificence of Man from era to era

in the hearts of the teachers that shape you

for sustenance on Earth and the Hereafter

Open your doors wide with your new face

lay out the carpet onto the thorny road

towards the peak of knowledgeable Mankind in this illusion

lay out the carpet to the thorny road

towards the peak of Mankind towards the path of God

School Uniform
In Islam, one has to cover one's aurat when in the presence of non-mahram (strangers). For males, aurat is from the belly button to below the knees. For females, aurat is the whole body except the face and palms. Being an Islamic school, Irsyad's uniform conform s strictly to the Muslim dress code and thus has a uniform that is quite different from the shorts and skirts of national schools in Singapore. Having a uniform that respects the aurat is one of the main reasons why parents choose to send their children to madrasahs. This is especially so for girls.

The Irsyad school uniform is the same for both primary and secondary school boys. It consists of a short-sleeved cream coloured shirt which is worn tucked out, long turquoise pants with a simple black belt, a black songkok (traditional Malay headgear) and black canvas shoes.

The school uniform for primary school girls consists of a loose long turquoise blouse that touches the calf, straight cut long pants, a long beige tudung (headdress) that fully covers the chest, and black shoes and socks. For secondary school girls, the blouse and pants are replaced by a jubah (long loose dress).

Primary School
Like national schools, primary school education at Irsyad takes six years. However, due to the religious subjects that Irsyad students learn on top of mainstream secular subjects, a typical Irsyad primary school student's day ends at about 4 pm; 3 hours longer than their mainstream counterparts.

Irsyad students study secular subjects such as English, Maths, Science and Malay in just about the same way as how a student from a mainstream school does. They use the same textbooks, sit for the same PSLE, and use English as the language medium.

As for the religious subjects, the language medium is also English and the textbooks are specially written and produced by MUIS. The syllabus is such that it focuses on developing Islamic identity and character rather than being exam-centric. However, there is still a lot of emphasis on equipping the students with a very strong Arabic language foundation. A unique feature of Madrasah Al-Irsyad, and of madrasah education as a whole, is that even at the primary school level, it practises the retaining of students who do not meet the minimum requirement at the end-of-year exams. In mainstream primary schools, very weak students are still promoted, though they are subsequently streamed according to their academic abilities. This unique feature is the result of there being a relatively small number of students in each level (around 80 students), thus making it unfeasible to stream the students.

This year, 2008, it is especially important for Irsyad's Primary 6 cohort to do well for their PSLE. This is because of the introduction of the Compulsory Education Act in 2003. According to the Act, every child must be enrolled in a national school for primary school education. Since madrasahs are not considered to be national schools, primary school madrasah students are exceptions to the Act. In order to maintain its "designated institution" status, madrasahs have to meet a certain minimum PSLE benchmark. This benchmark is pegged at the average PSLE aggregate score (rounded up to the nearest whole number) of EM1 and EM2 Malay pupils in the six lowest-performing national schools, ranked based on the performance of their EM1 and EM2 Malay pupils in the PSLE of the same year. This translates to the Primary 6 pupils scoring around 175 points on average. Madrasahs were given six years to prepare their students to meet this benchmark. Thus 2008 is the first year that Irsyad students will be sitting for their PSLE with the heavy burden of ensuring that their beloved primary school remains in existence.

Secondary School
After sitting for their PSLE, Irsyad students can choose to either continue their secondary school education at Irsyad or transfer to any of the four madrasahs offering secondary education. If they choose to continue at Irsyad, they will study for another 5 years. At the end of the 4th year, they will receive a Secondary Four Certificate (STE) endorsed by MUIS for the religious subjects they studied, and at the end of the 5th year, they will sit for their GCE ‘O’Level exams. Again, Arabic language is strongly emphasised with a 2-year Arabic Mastery programme being integrated into the curriculum.

Post-Secondary School
After finishing their secondary school education, Irsyad students who choose the Islamic education path obtain pre-university education at other madrasahs that offer it, such as Madrasah Wak Tanjong, before proceeding to Islamic universities all over the world.

Increasingly though, many Irsyad graduates are choosing the secular academic pathway. This means that with their GCE 'O'Levels, they enrol in either polytechnics, junior colleges or other institutes such as the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA). Many then graduate well enough from those institutes and move on to further their studies in local universities, majoring in a diverse range of fields, from Political Science to Biomedical Science.

Culture
Being relatively small, and having evolved from a village school, Irsyad is a close-knit community where everyone knows each other. In fact, the C.E.O. of Irsyad himself, Mr Ahmad Shafai ada Jaafar, or more affectionately known as Pak Utih, repeatedly makes it known that any student is welcome to stop by his office to visit him anytime ! Many of the teachers and principals are ex-Irsyad students themselves, and it is not unusual to see recent Irsyad graduates returning to Irsyad to contribute in a range of ways, from organising events for the young ones to mentoring those who are due to take national exams. It is not surprising then that a unique culture has emerged over the years.

Special Programmes
Below are some of the unique programmes that Irsyad organises for its students.

School-Stay Unlike national schools that can only afford to organise, at most, a yearly camp for each cohort of students, Irsyad organises many school-stay programmes throughout the year. This is one of the benefits of having such a small number of students per level. These sleepovers in the Madrasah aim to increase the spiritual quotient of students, strengthen bonds between students and teachers, and to develop students that are independent and confident.

Most of the school-stay events take the form of the fortnightly Qiyam programme. Literally, ‘qiyam’ means ‘to stand’. In this case, Qiyam entails studying and playing together during the day, sleeping together in the first part of the night, and the highlight is the night vigil in the later part of the night until dawn. During the vigil, students of the cohort perform tahajud (night) prayers and recite the Quran together amongst other programmes that aim for spiritual upliftment.

Irsyad also has an intensive school-stay program solely for boys of the graduating cohort. The name of this programme, Khalifah Fil-Ard Dorm, is especially befitting as it aims to shape the students into Caliphs of the Earth. In this programme, the boys, under the care of a full-time superintendent, stay in school throughout the weekdays attending special programs outside their curriculum hours. It is academic mentoring in overdrive, independent living in practice and spiritual upliftment at its climax.

TIPS TIPS is an acronym for the Tarbiyah Incentive Points System. In most national schools, a student’s semestral grade for the category of conduct is determined in a subjective manner by the student’s form teacher. At Irsyad, that grade is assessed based on Incentive and Penalty points awarded by all teachers concerned over a period of one year.

At the beginning of the year, each student is given 75 TIPS points (equivalent to a “Good” grade). When a student does meritorious acts and displays commendable behaviour, incentive points are awarded to his individual TIPS account, as well as to the class and house accounts respectively. Conversely, when a student misbehaves, penalty points are deducted from all three accounts. This system is effective in developing a student’s sense of responsibility and in cultivating the idea that each of one’s actions has consequences on others.

APEX Programme Apex is an acronym for Ace PSLE Exams. In this programme, bright Muslim youths from tertiary institutes and beyond voluntarily serve as mentors (in the academic, emotional and spiritual sense) of Primary 6 Irsyad students in light of their upcoming PSLE exams. Mentoring sessions take up Saturday mornings and involves traditional small group tutoring (with a ratio of about two students to one mentor), educational games and casual interactions between the mentors and the students.

This is one programme that was initiated not by the Madrasah, but by a group of National University of Singapore (NUS) undergraduates under the umbrella of the NUS Muslim Society. The trigger for this initiation is the establishment of the Compulsory Education Act. As mentioned earlier, under this act, madrasahs have to meet a certain PSLE benchmark in order to obtain “designated school” status, which is needed to allow them to continue admitting students exempted from CE at national schools. Thus, Apex was set up to help madrasahs achieve that benchmark. As this is a brand new programme that was started only early this year, only Irsyad has thus far benefitted from this programme. However, the Apex committee is in the process of expanding the programme to the other madrasahs that are also affected by the CE.

Personalities
Despite its humble village school roots, Irsyad has been successful in a rather surprising field: the music industry! To be precise, the nasyid music industry. Nasyids are songs that have spiritual messages and conform to the Islamic guidelines for music. In its 60 years of history, Irsyad has grown not one but two successful all-boys nasyid groups: Nur Irsyad and Irsyadee.

Nur Irsyad (NI) Nur Irsyad was formed in June 2000 with the aim of making a fundraising album for Irsyad’s building fund project. It initially consisted of six teens then studying in Irsyad. Their album proved to be a hit, selling over 15 thousand units in Singapore and Malaysia alone! After completing their studies in Irsyad, the group became a commercial one, under the company NI Inspirations. A few of the members left the group to focus on their further studies and new ones from all over Malaysia joined, such that now only 2 of them were original members. They continue to be successful, having launched their third album last year. Despite their commercial success, Nur Irsyad has yet to forget its roots as can be seen from the motivational, artistic and fundraising programmes they organise for students, madrasahs, mosques and other Muslim organisations in Singapore. .

Irsyadee Simply put, Irsyadee is a fresh nasyid group that was formed for the same reason as Nur Irsyad; to raise funds for the Madrasah. They launched their debut album last year during Irsyad’s 60th Anniversary Carnival. It is made up of five current Irsyad secondary school boys. From the looks of it, they are set to follow in the footsteps of their big brothers from Nur Irsyad.

Singapore Islamic Hub
The current atmosphere in Irsyad is that of intense anticipation for their spanking new permanent building at the Singapore Islamic Hub. The complex, that is due to be completed this year, will house the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS), Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah and Muhajirin Mosque. The building housing Irsyad promises facilities like a school library, auditorium, science and computer laboratories and sports halls Foundation; Singapore Islamic Hub. , all of which are either non-existent or inadequate at Irsyad’s current campus. However, Irsyad is still $9 million short of its target of $16 million needed for the development of the new building. The Irsyad Fund Development Unit (FDU) has been set up for the purpose of raising funds for the new building as well as for the costs of running the school.

Joint Madrasah System
Late last year (2007), it was announced that the Joint Madrasah Scheme will be introduced in 2009. Under this scheme, Madrasah Al-Irsyad will start specialising in only primary education while Aljunied and Al-Arabiah will focus on secondary education. The other three madrasahs not included in this scheme will continue to offer both levels of education. The aim of the scheme is to address the perennial problems of madrasah operators: limited funds and the need to improve standards for primary and secondary students. This is especially in light of the government requirement of madrasah students attaining at least a certain benchmark in the PSLE in order for the madrasahs to be able to continue offering primary school education.