Top-performing madrasah students recognised at inaugural awards
Masyitah (left) and Amirah were among the winners at the inaugural Madrasah Student Awards yesterday. Photo: Najeer Yusof
SINGAPORE — Crammed into a five-room flat in Punggol with four other siblings, 16-year-old Siti Nur Amirah Amirruddin would often hit the books in the wee hours of the morning just so she could study in peace.
Determined to do well in her various subjects, Amirah would get out of bed at 2am and catch up on her school work until daybreak. Then she would head straight to school at Madrasah Al-Maarif Al-Islamiah.
Her teachers and parents often worried about whether she had enough sleep, but Amirah can now tell them that her hard work has been worth it.
Yesterday, her family watched her collect a certificate at the first ever Madrasah Student Awards held at the Singapore Expo.
The awards are given to students from primary, secondary and pre-university levels who have shown excellent performance or progress in both secular and religious subjects, at the six full-time madrasahs in Singapore.
At the ceremony attended by some 1,500 people, close to 500 students received some 620 awards, and there were 125 students receiving more than one award. Students get between S$200 and S$400 for each award, depending on their level.
The total amount to be disbursed to recipients this year is S$181,500.
Amirah, who aspires to be a doctor, said: “I’ve never won any kind of award in a big ceremony ... When my teacher told my mother about the award, she cried.”
Her mother, housewife Filzah Mohamed Sidek, 38, said: “We’re all just very happy and proud of her.” To celebrate the win, the family plans to break fast together this weekend.
It was an unforgettable day as well for 15-year-old Masyitah Mohd Hamzah who, having failed her mathematics tests many times or scraped by with a borderline pass, received the Academic Subjects Progress Award, Religious Subjects Award and Religious Subjects Progress Award.
The student from Madrasah Al-Arabiah Al-Islamiah, who aspires to be a social worker or psychologist, said her mother, a secondary school teacher, is her biggest source of strength.
Her mother told her before that she had also failed maths in school but ended up with a “B” for her O Levels.
“I really needed that (encouragement) ... Sometimes we can get really lazy ... but I have to motivate myself, and that’s what also made me excel in my studies last year, telling myself that it’s for my own good,” Masyitah said.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the event, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, said that it was “a wonderful beginning” for the community.
“We hope that today’s inaugural award can be an inspiration for future generations, so they can continue to do well ... (and) be rewarded ... To me, it’s not just a monetary recognition, but that they can compete not just in religious, but secular subjects as well. That’s an important point.”
In 2015, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that the Government would give its support to strengthen the teaching of national curricula subjects in all full-time madrasahs. Muis (the Singapore Islamic Religious Council) would match this contribution by funding awards to recognise excellence in religious subjects.
