Remember, Don't Carelessly Choose Islamic Boarding Schools

JAKARTA Islamic boarding schools are still one of the educational institutions that people are interested in. However, considering the many unpleasant incidents experienced by students, choosing pesantren needs to be done carefully.

Citing the website of the Ministry of Religion, pesantren has existed since the Walisongo era around the 15-16th century. Islamic boarding schools in their history also have a role in garnering power to seize Indonesia's independence from the hands of the invaders.

The existence of a'Jihad Resolution' in October 1945 became a real contribution for the students in seizing independence.

For this reason, pesantren still exist today. Statistically, the Ministry of Religion noted that there were 39,043 pesantren until 2022/2023 with a total number of students of 4.08 million. That's just a registered pesantren, not to mention an unregistered or even unlicensed pesantren.

Unfortunately, pesantren also cannot be separated from the negative image. Sexual harassment, bullying, and even violence that lead to death often occur in Islamic boarding schools.

As happened recently in Kediri, East Java. It is known that a student from Banyuwangi, BM (14), died at the Hanifiyyah Islamic Boarding School in Kemayan Hamlet, Kranding Village, Mojo District.

Pesantren said BM died because he fell in the bathroom. But then it was discovered that BM turned out to be a victim of abuse allegedly carried out by his senior.

The police have arrested four perpetrators suspected of being involved in the persecution. The four perpetrators consisted of two adults and two children, namely MN (18) from Sidoarjo, MA (18) from Nganjuk Regency, AF (16) from Denpasar Bali, and AK (17) from Surabaya.

In addition, what is more concerning is that after the pesantren inspection in Kediri, it turns out that it does not have an operational permit even though it has been operating since 2014.

Cases of violence in Islamic boarding schools also occurred in Kuningan Regency, West Java in December 2023. A victim with the initials (H) who is a student at the Husnul Khotimah Islamic Boarding School was persecuted for allegedly stealing money. The Kuningan Resort Police then named 18 suspects, including 12 underage students, for the abuse case.

In the same year, in September to be exact, a boarding school in Temanggung was in the spotlight because its students died. The victim MNF (15) was abused by his peers at the boarding school, totaling eight people.

Then in Bangkalan, Madura, the victim of BT (16) breathed his last in March 2023 even though he was rushed to the puskesmas. The victim suffered serious bruises on the back, arms and chest.

Not only violence in the form of persecution that often tarnishes Islamic boarding schools. Sexual violence in the form of rape or harassment of female students repeatedly occurs.

Chairman of the Indonesian Child Protection Agency (LPAI) Seto Mulyadi said the incident of repeated violence in Islamic boarding schools occurred because there was omission and there was no firmness or no control involving many people.

"Schools, especially those in the form of dormitories, there must be openness, parents must be able to see, must be able to communicate. So there is no unilateral attempt to close (communication), because this opens up opportunities for violent efforts," said the man who is familiarly called Kak Seto when contacted by VOI.

Unopenness in this educational institution, continued Kak Seto, opens up opportunities for perpetrators to commit violence. This is like Bang Napi's popular slogan which reads that crime occurs not only because of the perpetrator's intention, but also because there is an opportunity.

"Because there is no openness, the perpetrators of violence seem to be given a wide space because there is no control from parents, teachers, including in Islamic boarding schools as well, it should not be closed," Sis Seto added.

Although dark stories often occur in Islamic boarding schools, religious-based educational institutions with this dormitory system are still one of the favorites in Indonesia.

There are various parents' motives who finally choose Islamic boarding schools as places for children's education. However, the majority of them entrust their children to Islamic boarding schools in the hope of exploring religious knowledge better. In addition, some other parents encourage their children to learn to live a simple life, share, and cooperate with others.

Prof. Dr. H. Muhammad Ali Ramadhani as Director General of Islamic Education of the Ministry of Religion said pesantren is the safest and most comfortable place. The reason is that parents get better guarantees in terms of understanding religion supported by the provision of science, science and technology that have now been taught in various Islamic boarding schools.

However, he emphasized the importance for parents to check first before entering their children into Islamic boarding schools. Moreover, now there is often a phenomenon of people claiming to be kiai so that they easily establish pesantren. As is known, the most important thing about pesantren is teachers or what is later called ustadz or kiai.

"Education is a long-term investment, so when it comes to educating children, the institution really has to pay attention to it," he said.

Therefore, Seto Mulyadi urged the Ministry of Religion to continue to enforce child-friendly school regulations, including in Islamic boarding schools, and for parents it is necessary to carry out a thorough check before entering children into Islamic boarding schools, including the issue of licensing.

"It is true that pesantren is still a favorite and there are also many positive things to be learned from there. But parents also have to check the pesantren first, whether it is really child-friendly, there is no violence. Parents should entrust their children to an institution that is very trustworthy, because this is for children's growth and development, so that their freedom is violated," he concluded.