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.