I'm an Arabic School student, and for those who think Sekolah Arab is just your normal combination of religious + academic school (something similar to MoRA's integrasi thing), no it isn't. In fact, it is something so much worse that even your mental will be tested to the limit.

Recently, I watched a video that surfaced on my TikTok's FYP of a student from an Arabic School who confessed to suffering difficulties during his/her qualifying exam (that, if you did not know, is qualifying season for SPUB and O-Level candidates), which many of us students also feel.

Some people have their own opinions - some (or maybe most) parents think that Sekolah Arab is a good educational institute that will 'increase' their religious values & think that their children benefit from it, even some of the students believe so, yet most people (even us Arabic School students & alumnis) think that there is no value in learning these subjects. Yes, subjects like those of Tafseer, Hadith, Al-Quraan and so on bring big benefits, yet, if most students only come to school just to play around and sleep knowing that they're gonna fail, then what's the point?

The Good

As highlighted by His Majesty, in Brunei, there is a school named 'Sekolah Arab', yet most students do not benefit from learning the Arabic language. And so, HM said to 'let this school truly live up to its name too.' (refer to HM's Speech, 29/10/2016).

Arabic School, just like it's name, is one of the few institutions under MoRA that specializes both religious a.k.a dini (ranging from your normal Amali subjects to more professional subjects like Fiqh and Tafseer which are both taken from books of famous Azhari scholars) and academic subjects (aka O-Level subjects).

It, just like I said above, does benefit the students as it teaches you both religious subjects that may benefit you 'fil dunya wal akhirah' and academic subjects that will benefit you (if you pursue more academic careers like a scientist or a doctor).

The Bad

Depending on your tier (or darjah, whichever is better), you will be taught the fundementals during your preparatory years (aka Years 5-6) such as BM, English, Science, MIB and the other stuff you would expect to learn as a kid in Sekolah Rendah and dini subjects like Tarbiyah Islamiyah, Arabic language, Al-Quraan and Calligraphy (yes, calligraphy).

Once you enter lower secondary, you will be taught more dini subjects, and thats where you will be introduced to more top-tier subjects like Tafseer (Quranic exegesis) & Hadith, Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), Tawhid (oneness of Allah, more towards aqeedah), Tarikh (Islamic history), the other dini subjects from Years 5 & 6, as well as your normal academic subjects. Of course, you would expect more memorisation, but that's expected...

Finally, after you enter your upper secondary, the Arabic you once knew will be broken down into three — Arab I (karangan / insya'), Arab II (grammar / nahwu & sharaf) and Balaghah (rhethoric) plus a few additional subjects like Biology, Physics, Chemistry, History and Geography. For 'Fast Track' (or express) and 'Normal Science' students, they will be forced to take all three science subjects with the exception of History and Geo, while 'Normal Arabic' students have the chance to select either Biology / Physics and History / Geography.

Bear in mind, all of the subjects are more advanced than ever. As I've stated earlier, most of the dini subject textbooks are taken from Azhari (Egyptian) scholars while the syllabus of all the academic subjects are taken directly from O-Level subjects and are taught based on the O-Level syllabus provided.

It seems normal at first, but with that many subjects, how will you able to handle the ton of subjects? And not to mention that it will be a very big disadvantage for those who have been weak at memorising things since the start of your life in Sekolah Arab.

The Ugly

And now to the very ugly. From top to bottom, you may wonder that - 'What's so bad about Sekolah Arab anyways? Those who say that it's hard is just overexaggerating it and that they have not experienced the real world just yet.'

Truth be told, yes, we have not experienced the real world, but to tell that we are overexaggerating things is just blatantly false.

From day one, we were expected to do the best of the best. We have been forced to memorise things since day one. Most of us are those who 'menghafal babi buta', especially Arabic-languaged subjects.

Why? Because we are not that proficient in Arabic, and most think that there is no practicality since there isn't any job fields that primarily use the Arabic language, and so, most sort towards having to memorise it with the wrong intonation / harkat and pronounce words wrong (adding more hurufs than needed), which will end up mess up our marks.

It's not just having to memorise, but we are mentally stressed and maybe tired, too tired in fact, that even 7 glasses of coffee (which may just be an understatement) won't help us. Some have opted to pulling all-nighters, especially during last-minute memorisations and exams. I quote from a post made by a former Arabic School student in another subreddit, that 'Truth is, no matter how well-prepared you are, when you have an exam timetable incomprehensibly packed like that, sleepless nights are inevitable.'

Other than having to memorise and pulling out all nighters against our mental will, we apparently have higher standards than most. In every religious ceremony (like majlis tahlil), anyone who is or was an Arabic School student will be proritised, meaning that they will be the ones having to lead the bacaan, even if they are 'buta huruf' or they are not fluent to the point that they stutter in each word they recite. It's not something to be told to be grateful of because you are recognised, but it's just more of a stetreotype than a recognision.

And that's just the tip of the iceburg. In the long run, there won't be a lot of career options that suit you. Even those who get 8 credits for SPUB, you'll still be in the bottom of the food chain (aka the minimum-wage paying jobs). You won't automatically become an imam or an 'alim, even if you have 8 credits. If you actually want to make use of your certificate as an Arabic School student, pursue your studies in either Mesir, Jordan or Saudi Arabia, become a scholar there and probably reside there for the rest of your life

An Advice for All (especially parents)

To parents, please, please, please (macam Sabrina Carpenter sudah) think before forcing the idea of Sekolah Arab onto your child. Ask your child about how they feel about having to learn a ton of dini and academic subjects and ask them about how they will feel in the long run. The stress that your child will have may just be the same as sending your child to Tahfiz (which requires more hafalan) once you send them to Sekolah Arab.

Keep in mind, that, if they suddenly want to quit, be prepared to face SSSRU and be held back in Darjah VI, and that you'll be having to do a lot of paperwork before your child can be officially let go from the system.

All in all, if you want your child high quality education, send them 2-3 years Sekolah Arab and forget (I know its a corny reference to Makachev's quote), but seriously, if you, or the parents, want your child to pursue quality religious education and make use of that, you can send them to Sekolah Arab if they are okay with having to memorise a lot and become mentally stressed. If you think that your child cannot carry the burden of having to memorise 14 - 19 subjects for their SPUB & O-Level, it's best for you to just send them to a normal secondary school.