Madrasah is an Arabic term referring to an Islamic school system with an emphasis on Arabic literacy, Islamic values, and religion. Historically, it was the primary form of education for Muslims in the Philippines during colonial periods. The modern Philippine madrasah model aims to integrate Islamic sectarian subjects into the national curriculum to provide students with both religious and secular knowledge. It establishes standard curriculums for public and private madrasahs, develops instructional materials, and provides training to improve the quality of Muslim education in the country. The goal is to eliminate the dichotomy between madrasah and public school systems and allow students to benefit from both.

1. MADRASAH
Education

2. What is MADRASAH?
❖It is an Arabic term for SCHOOL
❖It is a system of education with a core
emphasis on Arabic Literacy, Islamic
Values, and Islamic religion.

3. “Islamic Values”
- it is the universal
moral values based on
Islam.

4. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
❑ Period or Moro resistance against the colonizers (Spain and U.S.A.)
Madrasah Education was a single institution that made the
survival of Islam in the Philippines.
❑ Spanish Period of Colonization
Madrasah was the only form of education available to the
Bangsa Moro.
❑ American Period
the Western system of secular education was introduced in
Mindanao, Sulu, and Palawan. However, the Moro Muslims
rejected the Western concept of education, thinking that it would
“Christianize” their children.

5. ❑ The acceptance by the Moro Muslims of a secular
system of education in public was slow and gradual.
❑ The evolution of Madrasah Education began in the
1950’s when Moro Muslims were sent to study in
Muslim countries.
❑ When these scholars returned to the Philippines,
they established formal Madrasah institutions
offering the same Islamic sectarian curriculum that
they learned from universities abroad.

6. OFFICIAL DEFINITION OF MADRASAH
IN THE PHILIPPINES
❑ Generally refers to Muslim private schools with core emphasis on
Islamic studies and Arabic literacy.
❑ It is a privately-operated school that relies on the support of the
local community or foreign donors, particularly from Islamic or
Muslim country.
❑ The madaris are the oldest educational institution in Mindanao
and are recognized to be the single most important factor in the
preservation of the Islamic faith and culture in the Philippines.

7. The three general descriptive types of
Madrasah in the Philippines
1. Traditional or Weekend Madrasah
- classes are held on weekends only or on days agreed
upon by the teachers and students.
- there is no formal curriculum, hence it is not graded
and may have multi-age groupings.
- The hiring of the teachers require simple
qualification like graduates of a

8. 2. DEVELOPMENTAL OR FORMAL MADRASAH
- offers hierarchically structured education and
sequential learning generally attuned with the formal
education system.
- offers kindergarten, primary and secondary
education.
3. STANDARD PRIVATE OR INTEGRATED MADRASAH
- offers the public school curriculum and Arabic literacy,
as well as Islamic religious subjects.

9. GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION:
ROAD MAP
FOR UPGRADING
MUSLIM BASIC EDUCATION

10. The importance of Madrasah
education for the Filipino Muslims and
the problem of mainstreaming it to the
larger national system of education was
first noted during the martial law years.
Perhaps, the Moro rebellion in the early
1970’s might have forced the
government’s attention on the
importance of Madrasah education.

11. During the term of President Marcos,
several Letters of Instruction (LOI) were
issued mandating integration of the
Madrasah into the Philippine system of
education, and authorized the use of
Arabic language as a medium of
instruction. The efforts to mainstream
Madrasah Education were not extremely
successful.

12. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has
made a different approach, a low-key
approach. Her Excellency appointed three (3)
Muslim leadres one after another. Their
mandate was to simply upgrade the quality of
Muslim basic education, including the
mainstreaming of Madrasah education as
component of the national system of
education.

13. The Road MAp for Upgrading Muslim
Basic Education: A Comprehensive
Program for the Educational
Development of Filipino Muslims was
drafted in CY 2004 with the assistance
of SEAMEO, INNOTECH, and was
approved by then Secretary Edilberto C.
de Jesus of DepEd.

14. PROGRAM COMPONENTS OF ROAD MAPS:
I. Development and Institutionalization of MAdrasah
Education;
I. Upgrading Quality Secular Education in the formal
elementary and secondary schools serving Muslim
children;
I. Developing and Implementing an Alternative Learning
System for Filipino Muslim’s Out-of-School Youth (OSY).

15. IV. Developing and Implementing appropriate livelihood skills education
and training for present day students of private Madaris, and Out-of-
School Youth (OSY).
V. Supporting government efforts to provide quality Early Childhood Care
and development (ECCD) programs for Filipino Muslims’ pre-school
children;
VI. Creation of a special fund for Assistance to Muslim Education (FAME) by
an Act of Congress, and
VII. Improvement of the health and nutritional status of Filipino Muslim
learners particularly in public schools.

16. MADRASAH EDUCATION: PHILIPPINE MODEL
❏ The dichotomy in the education of Filipino
Muslims has put them at a great disadvantage.
❏ The sectarian Madaris institutions teach the
religion of Islam with Arabic as the medium of
instruction, and exclude English, Filipino,
Philippine History, and Social Life in their
curriculum.

17. ❏ Graduates there are virtual foreigners in their
own country.
❏ They are unemployable in government services
and private enterprises.
❏ The public schools do not offer Arabic Language
and Islamic Values, thereby depriving Filipino
Muslims of knowledge and skills in the language
of Islam and the universal values of ISlam.

18. 1. RATIONALE
The rationale for the Philippine
model of Madrasah education is to
eliminate this dichotomy and unify the
curriculum of basic education in the
public schools and private Madaris,
allowing students to shift or transfer
from one to the other.

19. 2. THE STANDARD CURRICULUM FOR MADRASAH
EDUCATION
- the Filipino Muslim Ulama Scholars had
agreed on five learning areas as the
Islamic Sectarian Core subjects of the
MAdrasah Curriculum in the Philippines

20. LEARNING AREAS:
★ For Public Schools
- Arabic Language - 60
mins. daily
- Islamic Values - 40
mins. daily
★ For Private Madrasah
- Qur’an
- Aqeeda and Fisqh

21. 3. NEW CURRICULUM
- DepEd Order No. 51, s. 2004 Standard
Curriculum for Elementary Public Schools and
Private Mandaris.
- The DepEd Order No. 51, s. 2004 was signed by
then Secretary of Education Dr, Edilberto de
Jesus on August 30, 2004, one day before the
effectivity of his resignation from the Cabinet.

22. 4. DEVELOPMENT OF THE STANDARD CURRICULUM
FOR MADRASAH EDUCATION
❖ The design and development started in early
CY 2002 at the initiative of DepEd ARRM
Regional Secretary, Dr. Mahid M. Mutilan.
❖ Began with the conduct of consultative
conference on the design of the curriculum for
Madrasah Education

23. ❖ Dr. Mutilan issued DepEd ARRM Order No. 1, s. 2002,
creating the Project Madrasah Education (PME) with the
mandate to design/develop the MAdrasah Curriculum.
❖ In August 2004, former DepEd Secretary de Jesus
authorized a conduct of seminar/workshop on the
preparation and unification of Madrasah Curriculum.
❖ The participants were representatives of different
organizations that have started to work on the design of
the curriculum.

24. ❖The final output of the workshop was
the basis of DepEd Order No. 51, s.
2004, prescribing the Standard
Curriculum for Madrasah Education in
the Philippines.

25. 5. DEVELOPMENT OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
❖ DepEd engaged the services of SEAMEO INNOTECH, as service
provider, to manage the development of the instructional
materials for the five learning areas, consisting of textbook,
teacher’s guide, and student skills book form grades.
❖ Content writers were Filipino Muslim scholars who obtained
university education from Muslim countries in the Middle East.
❖ The intent of employing Filipino Muslim content writers to
develop instructional materials was to encourage scholarships
among Filipino Muslims.

26. ❖There are about ten million
Filipino Muslims, a large
population comparable with
some of the Muslim countries
around the world.

27. THE MADRASAH CURRICULUM
There are two (2) types of curriculum prescribed in Madrasah or
Muslim educational institutions:
1. The enriched Curriculum for Public Elementary Schools
- Uses of Arabic language and Islamic Values Education (ALIVE)
taught by ASATIDZ (Muslim Teachers) who were trained by DepEd.
2. The Standard Curriculum for Private Madaris
- Teaches subjects such as Qur’an, Seerah (Life story of the
Prophet), Hadith (Saying of the Prophet), Aqueedah (conduct), Fiqh
(jurisprudence), and Arabic language alongside with Science, Math,
English, Filipino, and Makabayan (Social Studies, Livelihood
Education, and Values.

28. Three (3) Levels of Training and Professional
Development for Muslim Teachers are being
designed and implemented
Level 1. Pre-Service: a 25-day live-in seminar-workshop on Language
Enhancement and Pedagogy (LEaP)
Entry Qualification: Competence in Arabic Language and Islamic Studies.
Training Modules consists of the following:
● Listening and Speaking English
● Reading and Writing English
● Teaching Methods and Lesson Plan Preparation
● Immersion to the Public School System

29. Level 2. Professionalizing the Asatidz in the Public Schools through
the Accelerated Educational Program.
❖ An intensive 12-month programs for ALIVE teachers in public
schools.
❖ Completed the LEaP Training Program
Mode Delivery: Mixed-Mode schooling while in service/teaching

30. Level 3. Inclusion of Arabic Language and Islamic Studies as two
additional major specializations in the curriculum
❖ A steady and reliable source of professionally trained teachers with
specialization in Arabic Language and Islamic Studies shall be
ensured.
❖ A curriculum of these two additional specializations shall be
designed and developed for approval of CHED.

31. Thank you..

32. MADRASAH GROUP
Plaza, Harrison Q.
Alde, Jay F.
Camacho, Norielyn
Dela Cruz, Angelica
Bangate, Jessalyn
Moraño, Alma