All six madrasahs (Islamic schools) in Singapore will receive support to continue their student programmes even amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

On Dec. 28, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) announced that S$500,000 will be disbursed to the six full-time schools, mostly to help with manpower and training expenses. They are:

• Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah
• Madrasah Alsagoff Al-Arabiah
• Madrasah Al-Arabiah Al-Islamiah
• Madrasah Irsyad Zuhri Al-Islamiah
• Madrasah Al-Ma’arif Al-Islamiah
• Madrasah Wak Tanjong Al-Islamiah

Muis said that the funds were allocated based on each madrasah's needs, with their respective enrolment sizes taken into account.

Around 3,500 students will benefit from the one-off disbursement.

Pivoting to online donations

Muis elaborated that in ordinary times, madrasahs rely heavily on contributions from the community.

Although they have access to certain government funding schemes, school fees and grants, madrasahs regularly hold fundraisers to supplement their income.

However, with the Covid-19 pandemic, madrasahs were forced to cancel fundraising events.

Due to the safe distancing measures, fewer people could come to mosques where donations are usually collected.

Madrasahs' operating costs also increased due to the need for safe management measures.

To help alleviate this, Muis worked with the madrasahs to develop an online portal at www.OurMadrasah.sg which has already raised S$50,000 since it was launched on Dec. 4.

Donors can choose a specific madrasah to donate to, or a general pool to be equally distributed to all.

Muis thanked those who have already donated, and urged the community to step up and donate to help the madrasahs for the coming academic year.

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Top image from Madrasah Irsyad Zuhri Al-Islamiah.