National exam fees to be waived for madrasah students too

MADRASAH students will not need to pay national examination fees, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim said.

The announcement comes after Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said in his Budget speech that the Education Ministry would waive fees for national exams for Singaporeans in government-funded schools.

There are six full-time madrasahs, or Islamic religious schools. They are funded by the Muslim community and up to 400 Primary One pupils are enrolled in the system each year.

The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth will assist the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore with the exam fees.

Dr Yaacob said that education was the foundation of the community's progress and would continue to be a key focus.

He said self-help group Mendaki has completed a review of its education programmes.

The coming months will see measures to help parents guide their children in reading and learning from an early age.

Mendaki will also expand its tuition scheme to six mosques this year for the first time, start a mentoring scheme for lower secondary students and set up more homework cafes for students.

This article was first published on March 13, 2015.
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