Governor Dedi Mulyadi's Ijazah Policy Is Considered Zalim For Islamic Boarding Schools

BANDUNG Branch Manager of Nahdlatul Ulama (PCNU) Bekasi Regency protested against West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi's policy of requiring schools to voluntarily hand over diplomas to all students, unconditionally.

Protests were delivered at the audience forum at the West Java DPRD Building, Wednesday, May 21, which was attended by PCNU administrators, RMI-NU, Islamic Boarding School Forum, Private Student Consultative Body (BMPS), and pesantren representatives. They were accepted by the leadership of the West Java DPRD, Acep Jamaludin, and members of the PKB Rohadi faction.

"We deeply regret this policy because it does not side with the pesantren. This is a wrong and sad policy," said Chairman of PCNU Bekasi Regency, KH Atok Romli Mustofa, quoted from ANTARA.

He assessed that the policy caused unrest among Islamic boarding schools because it was made without a comprehensive and participatory study, but was spontaneous, intimidating, and intuitive only from the governor. In fact, Islamic boarding schools that refuse to submit diplomas are threatened with not receiving Universal Medium Education Assistance (BPMU) funds and revocation of operational permits.

Islamic Boarding Schools Threatened With Collapse

KH Atok emphasized that pesantren provides education for 24 hours, unlike formal schools. So the burden of financing borne is much greater and carried out independently without full support from the government.

The caretaker of the Central Yapink Islamic Boarding School, KH Kholid, added that this policy could interfere with the education process because pesantren lost administrative control of students who had not completed their obligations, both academic and financial.

"Many alumni come to Islamic boarding schools demanding diplomas because of the governor's direction. In fact, they have not fulfilled their obligations. This is detrimental to Islamic boarding schools financially," he said.

He estimates that many pesantren are threatened with closing because they have to bear the burden of receivables that have not been paid from alumni. "Only one pesantren can bear Rp1 to Rp1.7 billion unpaid receivables," he explained.

Furthermore, he assessed that this policy also had an impact on the relegation of moral students. "It has an impression that the government is pitting each other between students and pesantren. There is no longer takdzim to teachers. This is dangerous for the future of the nation," he said.

Urge Policy Revision

The head of the Bekasi Regency BMPS, HM Syauqi, assessed that this policy was made without involving all stakeholders and had the potential to damage the national education order.

"Indeed, free education is the right of the people. But is the government able to fulfill it without a private role, especially pesantren?" he said.

He noted that public schools were only able to accommodate about 25'35 percent of the population of students in Indonesia. The rest was supported by private institutions and Islamic boarding schools that had played a role long before the republic was established.

Through this hearing, PCNU and a number of educational organizations urged the West Java DPRD to encourage Governor Dedi Mulyadi to revise policies or provide exceptions for pesantren.

"Concrete solutions to the impact of this policy are needed so that pesantren can survive and contribute to the nation's education," said Syauqi.