Madrasah Irsyad Zuhri Al-Islamiah is a full-time co-educational madrasah offering primary education in Singapore.Nostalgia Irsyad 1947–2007. [E-book] Singapore : Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah, 2007. Madrasah is an Arabic word that means "school" However, in the Singaporean context, a madrasah means an Islamic religious school. "Irsyad" means rightly guided in Arabic.Razak Mohamed Lazim. SHINE; Student Handbook for Irsyadians. Singapore : Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah.

Similar to the five other full-time madrasahs in Singapore (Aljunied Al-Islamiah, Alsagoff Al-Arabiah, Al-Arabiah Al-Islamiah, Al-Maarif Al-Islamiah and Madrasah Wak Tanjong Al-Islamiah), Irsyad is a private school which offers students an education comprising both ukhrawi (Islamic religious) subjects such as Arabic and Revelation studies, as well as duniawi (secular) subjects like English, Mathematics 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 others attend the local polytechnics and universities. The school celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2007 and is operating at its permanent campus at the Singapore Islamic Hub.The School; milestone. Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah. [Online] [Cited: 12 April 2008.] http://www.irsyad.sg/xweb/web/sub_cat1.asp?id=ART00112-2006&pgno=1&keyword=&srch= .

Leadership

Principal: Ustazah Warintek Ismail

Vice Principal (Academic): Mdm Faizah Abdul Rahman

Vice Principal (Administration): Mr. Zuremi Sukri

Manager (Operations): Ustaz Saddam Hussien Norazman

Coordinator (ICT): Mr. Rizal Jailani

History

Mahadul Irsyad (1947–1990) Madrasah Irsyad Zuhri Al-Islamiah was founded as Mahadul Irsyad at Hindhede Road (off Upper Bukit Timah Road) where the village called Kampong Quarry used to be. It was 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 founding. According to Ustaz Idris Bin Hj Ahmad, the Principal of Mahadul Irsyad in the 1950s and 1960s, 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 renamed Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah. It focussing on 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.Speeches: SPEECH BY PRESIDENT OF THE ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS COUNCIL OF SINGAPORE (MUIS), HAJI MOHD ALAMI MUSA, AT THE SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL WAQF CONFERENCE 2007. Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura. [Online] 6 March 2007. [Cited: 4 April 2007.] http://www.muis.gov.sg/cms/news/speeches.aspx?id=4574 .

It was at this campus that the madrasah accomplished some 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 (1996–2008)

In 1996, just when Irsyad was settling down in its Woodlands campus, the construction of the MRT 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 caused a 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.Mardiana Abu Bakar. The best of both worlds? Singapore : The Straits Times, 4 May 1993. This increased the enrolment 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.MUIS: Madrasahs FAQ. MUIS: Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura . [Online] [Cited: 12 April 2008.] http://www.muis.gov.sg/cms/services/Madrasahs.aspx?id=1908 . To better prepare for that eventuality, Irsyad was the first madrasah to introduce a new integrated religious curriculum for the primary school.Zakir Hussain. Lessons in English part of madrasah revamp. Singapore : The Straits Times, 4 April 2008. It was developed and produced by MUIS and uses English as the medium of instruction.

Madrasah Irsyad Zuhri Al-Islamiah, Singapore Islamic Hub (2009–present) In 2009, Irsyad moved to the Singapore Islamic Hub along Braddell Road which also houses the MUIS headquarters and Muhajirin Mosque. Its facilities include science lab, state-of-the-art computer labs, a garden, a library, a canteen and expansive football fields.

The Irsyad Identity

School motto

The school motto is: Strength and Honour.

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 describes the struggles that Irsyad has overcome, and the vision of the school.

School uniform In Islam, the aurat has to be covered 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 conforms 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 primary reasons why parents choose to send their children to madrasahs. This is especially so for girls.

The Irsyad school uniform for primary school boys 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. For secondary school boys, the sleeves are long and the shirt is worn tucked in with a black belt.

The school uniform for primary school girls consists of a loose long turquoise blouse that touches the calf, straight cut long pants, a long light-yellow cream 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).

Academic structure and curriculum

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 2 p.m daily; a few hours longer than their mainstream counterparts.

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

For religious subjects, the language medium is also English and the textbooks are written and produced by MUIS. The syllabus focuses on developing Islamic identity and character rather than being exam-centred. However, there is still emphasis on equipping the students with a strong Arabic language foundation.

Since 2008, it is important for Irsyad's Primary 6 cohort to do well in their Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) due to 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.Singapore Statutes Online. [E-catalogue] Singapore : Attorney-General's Chambers, 2008. Since madrasahs are not considered to be national schools, primary school madrasah students are exceptions to the Act. 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.ALINE WONG COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS COMPULSORY PRIMARY EDUCATION. Ministry of Education Press Releases. [Online] 15 August 2000. [Cited: 12 April 2008.] http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/press/2000/pr15082000.htm . This translates to the Primary 6 pupils scoring around 175 points on average.Zakir Hussain. New madrasah system to address two key concerns. Singapore : The Straits Times, 27 October 2007. 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 primary school remains in existence.

Students in Madrasah Irsyad also actively participate in National-level competitions and have achieved various awards such as the Raffles Institution Primary Math World Contest (RIPMWC), Singapore Mathematical Olympiad for Primary Schools (SMOPS) by Hwa Chong Institution and the National Mathematical Olympiad of Singapore (NMOS) by the NUS High School of Math & Science. They also have done quite well in the area of robotics where the students have achieved awards in the Asia-Pacific Youth Robotics Competition and the National Robotics Competition by the Singapore Science Centre.

Secondary school