The Presence Of The Directorate General Of Islamic Boarding Schools Is Still Waiting For Minister Tjahjo And President Jokowi

Director General of Islamic Education Ministry of Religion M. Ali Ramdhani. (Photo via ANTARA/HO-Kemenag)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Religion has submitted a proposal to establish a directorate general (directorate general) of Islamic boarding schools. The process is still awaiting approval from the Ministry of Administrative Reform and Bureaucratic Reform and President Joko Widodo.

"The progress as far as I know has been submitted by the Ministry of Religion, only approval from the Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform and the President is required. Our domain is only a proposal," said Director General of Islamic Education at the Ministry of Religion M. Ali Ramdhani in Jakarta, Wednesday, December 8.

Dhani emphasized that the establishment of the Directorate General of Islamic Boarding Schools is important because Islamic boarding schools have their own uniqueness, both in terms of curriculum and educational goals.

In terms of curriculum, Islamic boarding schools stand alone without any interference from the state. To maintain the quality of education, it will be monitored and supervised by the community assembly, not the National Accreditation Board (BAN), like other educational institutions.

"They (in pesantren) have a community assembly to maintain quality, in us (non-Islamic boarding schools) we have BAN, we have BAS. In pesantren, it is different and the curriculum should not be regulated by the state because they have their own characteristics," he said.

Meanwhile, in terms of educational goals, according to Dhani, there are three aspects that are the main pursuits of pesantren, namely da'wah, education and community service.

"Those three things are difficult for non-Islamic boarding schools to do," he said.

He explained that so far, Islamic boarding schools have been included in the domain of the Ministry of Religion's Director General of Islamic Education. If approved as the new directorate, Islamic education (pendis) will only manage educational institutions from madrasas to religious colleges.

On the one hand, the recently issued Law on Islamic Boarding Schools is a source of enthusiasm for pesantren to have a special directorate at the Ministry of Religion.

"Since the Law on Islamic Boarding Schools was introduced, it's like having an echelon one specifically manage it," he said.