Al Azhar sets up elite boarding school

Al Azhar sets up elite boarding school

By Stevie Emilia

BEKASI, West Java (JP): Indonesians concerned about the
education of their children now have another choice on which high
school to send them away to, other than those abroad.

After Taruna Nusantara in Magelang and Pelita Harapan in
Tangerang, now there is Al Azhar Boarding School in Bekasi, in
the huge and sprawling Lippo City complex.

Syifa Budi Foundation, the institution that manages the Al
Azhar school in Kemang, South Jakarta, has joined in the business
of meeting the wishes of many Indonesian parents to obtain the
best education for their children, at almost any price.

While Taruna Nusantara combines general education with
military discipline and Pelita Harapan places emphasis on
academic and sports excellence, Al Azhar Boarding School combines
modern general education with strict religious discipline.

While tuition at Taruna Nusantara, the first elite boarding
school in Indonesia, is free with students chosen through very
tight selection, education at Al Azhar Boarding School, like in
Pelita Harapan, comes at a price. The admission fee at Al Azhar
Boarding School is Rp 20 million. Then there is the tuition fee
and the lodging costs, which come to Rp 850,000 a month.

While Taruna Nusantara is a boys-only school, Al Azhar
Boarding School is coeducational. Housing-wise, the opposite
sexes are segregated, but the classes are mixed.

And Al Azhar Boarding School is not a pesantren, a traditional
Moslem boarding school. Its curriculum follows the one outlined
by the Ministry of Education and Culture. English, rather than
Arabic, for example, is the second language used in teaching and
in communication within the school.

When the school had its "soft opening" last year, it admitted
37 first year students -- 25 boys and 12 girls. On Thursday, the
school announced that it is now opening its admission for first
year students for the 1995/96 academic year which begins in July.

Discipline here is so tight that, although this is a mixed
school, the rule forbids a boy from getting romantically involved
with a girl, at least within the vicinity of the school. And
smoking is strictly forbidden.

Violating the rules could mean expulsion and, given the
monetary cost to the student's parents, it is difficult to
envisage these teens ever daring to take the risk.

"In this school, we teach students Moslem education. And
because this is a boarding school, where they spend their entire
day and night with us, we teach them the Moslem way of life,"
said S.B. Nugraheni Moeljono, the school's deputy headmaster.

"For example, they have to pray together, start and end
everything by saying Bismillah (in the name of Allah) and
Alhamdulillah (All praise to Allah), shake hands when they meet
another Moslem, respect of elders, and so on and so on."

"By entering this school, students are expected to be spared
the influence of drug abuse and brawls," Maulwi Latief, chairman
of the Syifa Budi Foundation, said referring to two of the
biggest problems commonly found among Indonesian teens.

The Al Azhar Boarding School certainly has very modern
surroundings. It is set up amidst the sprawling Lippo City
complex -- with its shopping malls, hotels, banks, office
buildings and luxury houses.

Classrooms are fully air conditioned and the school's
facilities include a laboratory, computers, and a tennis and
basketball court.

Herman Latief, the president director of PT Lippo City
Development, said the developer provided the land for the Syifa
Budi Foundation to build the school. "The hardware and software
all belong to the foundation."

Herman gave his personal endorsement to the school. His
daughter, one of the first pupils, was enrolled there last year.
His concern, like the concern of many other parents, is to obtain
the best education for his daughter. "As a parent, I want my
daughter to have the minimum risks -- zero risk if possible."

Due to strong opposition from Moslem organizations, the
government is still debating whether or not to shorten the school
week from six to five days. But the Al Azhar Boarding School has
jumped ahead and applied the shorter week. After a grueling five
days of boarding school life, the school feels that the pupils
are entitled to spend the weekend with their parents.

One student attending the Al Azhar Boarding School mentioned
the lack of spare time, but said this is made up by better
relations and communications with students and teachers on a more
personal level.

"We have to do a lot of activities here, so we do not have
much time to do anything else beside the school tasks. But
relations between students and teachers are very close, so if a
student makes a mistake and the teacher warns him, he will not be
embarrassed," said Hani Arvita, one of the students.