ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to place efforts to modernise madrasah education within the wider context of education reform in Singapore from 1987. Singapore's madrasahs are unique institutions representing a blend of the global and the national. Principally, the Singapore education system was designed to facilitate the developmental state's ideology and practices. However, globalisation trends had begun to impact society and the economy. Two key themes will dominate considerations of Singapore education as we near the end of the second decade of the 21st century. The first has to do with the question: How well is the Singapore system adjusting to the challenges of globalisation? The second is: What role will education play in the new challenges that confront state and society? The industrializing Singapore economy needed a skilled labour force which the schools had to provide. Policy makers realised that Singapore had to reshape its economy to leverage on technology, enterprise and knowledge capital.
