IAIN campus land may go up for sale
IAIN campus land may go up for sale
JAKARTA (JP): The huge complex of the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic Institute (IAIN), which is strategically located on Jl. Ciputat Raya on the outskirts of South Jakarta, may soon be up for sale.
State Minister of National Development Planning Ginandjar Kartasasmita disclosed on Saturday that the government is planning to relocate the campus because "its location in a crowded area is deemed no longer appropriate".
The IAIN campus is located in a fast growing Ciputat district where the development of many real estate complexes is taking place as in surrounding districts.
Ciputat Raya is now lined with shops and department stores and car show rooms which are frequented not only by local residents but also people from the nearby districts of Pamulang and Bumi Serpong Damai.
Officials said the government has not decided on a new site for the campus of one of the nation's most prestigious Islamic higher education institutions. It is not immediately clear whether the government plans to sell the site or to use it for other purposes.
What is clear is that the government has already begun apportioning funds out of its 1995-1996 budget for the purpose of moving the campus to a more appropriate location.
Ginandjar said the funding allocation for the religions sector in the 1995-1996 state budget will increase by 61 percent to Rp 160.1 billion. The major increase is due partly to the need to finance the relocation of the IAIN campus in Ciputat and partly because of the huge cost of financing the nine-year compulsory education program at religious schools.
Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher confirmed the planned relocation but said that the process could take some time.
The Syarif Hidayatullah campus is one of fourteen IAIN campuses in the country. It currently boasts five colleges and a post graduate study program.
According to a recent Kompas report, the IAIN educational facilities in Jakarta and Yogyakarta are being considered for university status.(rid/emb)