Sharing her experience teaching at Madrasah Al-Arabiah Al-Islamiah (MAI) for more than two decades, Ustazah Zainab Mohamed Habib, 49, said among the support she received from Muis included funding for the National Institute of Education (NIE) diploma program which she participated in for several years. then.
“I am a member of the first cohort of the program for madrasah teachers and I learned a lot to help me deliver my teaching better and more effectively,” said Ustazah Zainab who teaches Arabic and Islamic Religious Knowledge (IRK) at MAI.
All asatizah madrasahs need to follow the program – hosted by Muis – to improve the quality of their teaching.
In addition to the diploma program, he was also sent to Shanghai, China, for a leadership management learning program.
According to him, unlike full -time madrasah students in the past, students now have to take subjects from two fields – academic and ukhrawi – “and the large number of subjects can pose great challenges to students.”
“Apart from teaching, we as teachers need to be sensitive to these challenges and often give encouragement and moral support to students so that they are able to balance the many subjects well.
“Without community support, especially programs funded by Muis as a result of community contributions, the teaching staff of local madrasahs will not be able to acquire the necessary expertise,” explained Ustazah Zainab.
As an institution that is fully supported by the community through various sources such as zakat, wakaf and the largest, namely general donations, Ustazah Zainab acknowledges that the resources owned by the madrasah are limited.
Therefore, he was impressed with the achievements of madrasah students who are able to pursue higher studies in both academic and ukhrawi streams, such as junior colleges, polytechnics and the National University of Singapore (NUS) as well as top Islamic universities in Jordan, Egypt and Malaysia.
Apart from donations and financial support, Muis as the patron of all full-time madrasahs in Singapore conducts various enrichment and development programs for madrasah teachers and asatizah such as education diploma programs as well as study tour programs abroad.
Muis also provides infrastructure support and educational facilities. Among them, Muis partially funded the development cost of the new MAI campus which is scheduled to open next year.
“Alhamdulillah, thanks to the guidance of madrasah teachers who not only teach subjects but also the good values that students should have, the students are more resilient and resilient to face their challenges. That is what I really admire, ”said Ustazah Zainab.
Ustazah Zainab received her early and secondary education at Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah. After graduating from pre-university, he went to Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt.
However, due to unavoidable reasons, he had to return to his homeland without completing his education, and instead pursued a dakwah diploma at the Sultan Zainal Abidin Religious College in Terengganu, Malaysia.
After graduating, he spent time teaching at Madrasah Aljunied, and Masjid Darul Ghufran, before going to MAI and remains to this day.
Asked about her hopes for local madrasah students, Ustazah Zainab said many madrasah graduates had achieved success in their career fields, including religious and secular fields.
However, he urged employers to give more opportunities to madrasah graduates “because I believe they have the potential and are able to do those tasks well.”
“With more opportunities for them, I believe madrasah graduates will be able to contribute back to society better and more meaningfully.
“And I believe, every madrasah graduate is also aware of the support of the community that has helped them in the early stages and will definitely want to give back to the community as a sign of their gratitude for the support,” said Ustazah Zainab.
