SINGAPORE — The Government will set aside up to S$1.5 million annually, starting this financial year, to support the teaching of secular subjects like maths and science at madrasahs, announced Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim on Thursday (March 9). 

This will be matched by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) for the teaching of religious subjects.

The bulk of the S$1.5 million each year (S$1.4 million) will go towards financial incentives for teachers. Each of the 127 teachers of secular subjects will receive S$4,200 to S$8,700 a year in cash and Central Provident Fund savings, with the amount depending on their qualifications. 

The financial incentives from Muis for teachers of religious subjects, as well as training, will amount to S$1.1 million a year. This is a lower amount because the number of teachers of religious subjects is 112.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had first announced greater support for the six full-time madrasahs in the teaching of secular subjects at the 2015 National Day Rally.

New training grants of S$1,000 per teacher per year will also be available, and Muis and the madrasahs will identify the training needs and priorities for eligible teachers.

For madrasah students who do well or show the most improvement, the Government and Muis will each set aside S$100,000 annually for student awards. 

The money from the Government will be for secular subjects, and about 350 awards will be given per year. A similar number of student awards for religious subjects will be funded by Muis.

Members of Parliament including Mr Zaqy Mohamad, Mr Muhamad Faisal Manap and Ms Rahayu Mahzam had raised issues concerning the Malay-Muslim community during the Committee of Supply debate of the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth. Mr Zainal Sapari asked if the madrasahs’ quota of 400 students per cohort was enough to meet the needs of the community, and Dr Yaacob said this quota has been able to produce the asatizah (religious teachers) needed to meet the community’s needs. Muis monitors the numbers and also looks at the competencies required, he said. Many of the asatizah here are graduates of the six full-time madrasahs that offer primary, secondary and pre-university education to more than 3,500 students.

On the Mandatory Asatizah Recognition Scheme, which came into effect in January, Dr Yaacob said more than 2,500 asatizah and Quran teachers have been registered. This is estimated to be 90 per cent of the Islamic religious teachers in Singapore. This year alone, 280 applicants have come forward and 117 of the applications have been processed. 

The scheme started in Dec 2005 and was voluntary. Muslim community leaders called for it to be made mandatory last year amid a more diverse socio-religious landscape, and for more assurance that religious guidance would be compatible with the values of multi-cultural Singapore. 

Meanwhile, to help Malay Muslim professionals, managers, executives and technicians (Pmets) in the lower-middle income group who may be affected by economic changes, a new committee co-chaired by Parliamentary Secretaries Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim and Amrin Amin will be set up. The committee will help Malay Muslim Pmets to retrain, tap their SkillsFuture credits and bounce back from any employment setbacks. One area for improvement is the community’s take-up of national skills-upgrading initiatives, said Dr Yaacob. As of December last year, out of 126,000 SIngaporeans who have used their SkillsFuture credits, only 8.4 per cent were Malays, he said. “More can be done to explain and link them to SkillsFuture and other national schemes. We will push hard to encourage more to try, and for those who do, we want to support them.”

Providing an update on mosque building Dr Yaacob said the Yusof Ishak Mosque in Woodlands will open to the public in April. It will have space for 4,500 congregants. Upgrading works have also been carried out at mosques including Sallim Mattar, Al-Falah, Al-Khair and Al-Muttaqin, said Dr Yaacob. A temporary prayer facility has also been set up at Al-Istighfar Mosque and since the Mosque Building and Mendaki Fund was used for Muis’ Mosque Upgrading Programme in 2009, Muis has provided 23,200 additional prayer spaces for Muslims, he said.