Scholarships for 12 teachers

SEMARANG: Malaysia has awarded scholarships to 12 state Islamic junior high school teachers in the province to study in the neighboring country, an official at the Central Java religious affairs office said on Saturday.

The head of the Islamic school development section, Djamhuri M. Nurrosyid, told Antara that the overseas study program was part of a cooperation agreement between the Ministry of Religious Affairs and a university in Malaysia.

"We expect they can improve their professionalism in particular, and give added value to the quality of pedagogy of Islamic schools in the province in general," Djamhuri said.

Teachers will be in Malaysia for one year.

The office will also give 30 Islamic elementary and high school teachers the opportunity to take master's degrees at an Australian university. They are expected to graduate in two years and be posted in seven special Islamic schools in the province.

Djamhuri also said that in the 1999/2000 fiscal year, the Asian Development Bank would help the government pay annual salaries of 43 part-time teachers at private Islamic junior high schools. They will receive Rp 2.5 million (US$272) each.