'Pesantren' won't be regulated

SURABAYA: The government has denied speculation that thousands of Islamic boarding schools, known as pesantren, will be regulated across the nation.

Sahal Mahfudz, a prominent Moslem leader who is also a member of the National Education Advisory Council, told The Jakarta Post yesterday that Islamic boarding schools were old, unique education institutions. "The schools fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, but their system of education cannot be separated from the national education system," he said.

"The pesantren will not be regulated to become uniform," he said. "Instead, their uniqueness and diversity will be preserved and integrated into the whole national education system."

Sahal is on a three-day tour of boarding schools in East Java, along with other council members including Prof. Makaminan Makagiansar, Sayidiman Suryohadiprojo, Tanri Abeng, Prof. Achmad Baiquni, Mohammad Noer and M. Djazman Al Kindi.

One of the schools that the council visited was the Hidayatullah boarding school. The school's administrator, Abdur Rahman, said that by letting each pesantren school develop its own characteristics, national education would be enriched.

"There's no need to make pesantren uniform," he said. (15/swe)