Darunnajah University Launches First Doctoral Programme in Education Management

The biggest challenge facing the pesantren (Islamic boarding school) community in Indonesia today is the institutional quality that must be adaptive to the changing times, according to Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs Romo R. Muhammad Syafi’i.

He made the remarks in Jakarta on Tuesday during the handover of the decree establishing the Doctorate in Education Management programme at Darunnajah University.

“The biggest challenge facing the pesantren community in Indonesia today is the institutional quality that must be adaptive to the changing times,” said the Deputy Minister.

According to him, the resilience of pesantren is ultimately determined by the institution’s ability to read and respond to the demands of its own era.

The decree handover was combined with a National Seminar and Grand Launching themed “A New Era for Pesantren Towards Golden Indonesia 2045”.

This programme is the first doctoral programme in the history of Darunnajah University, which was established in 2022 under the auspices of the Darunnajah Islamic Boarding School.

He said the doctoral programme stems from a fundamental question about the knowledge that has so far underpinned the management of pesantren.

“With what knowledge have pesantren actually been managed all this time?” he asked.

According to Kiai Hadiyanto, pesantren have proven to survive across generations without depending on state budgets or modern management consultants.

However, knowledge about their management is largely stored in the practices and experiences of the kiai (religious leaders), so that when a kiai passes away, some of that leadership knowledge is often lost as well.

He stressed that management renewal does not mean changing the identity of pesantren. Core values or tsawabit such as sincerity, simplicity, self-reliance, and obedience to teachers remain the foundation, while what evolves are the instruments and governance.

According to him, the doctoral programme is directed at addressing the real problems of pesantren, including leadership continuity and succession, productive waqf management, financing sustainability, and institutional development.

“The presence of this programme complements the bachelor’s and master’s levels in Islamic Education Management that have already been running at the campus,” he said.