'Pesantren' won't be regulated

'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)