Gov’t Provides Scholarships for 290 Islamic Students This Year

By Office of Assistant to Deputy Cabinet Secretary for State Documents & Translation     Date 15 Maret 2018
Category: News
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Students partake in a scholarship test held by Religious Affairs Ministry.

Students partake in a scholarship test held by Religious Affairs Ministry.

In a bid to provide greater access for Islamic students (santri) to study at universities, Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs this year provides scholarships for high-achieving Islamic students in a program known as Program Beasiswa Santri Berprestasi (High-Achieving Islamic Students/PBSB).

The enrollment of the program – which has been launched since 2015 – is open from 15 March to 15 April.

The Ministry’s Director General of Islamic Education Kamaruddin Amin said that the scholarship program is one of the Government’s efforts to expand access for high achieving Islamic students to study at a number of prestigious universities in the country with various disciplines beyond religious studies.

“This program serves as proof of the state presence in appreciating the contribution of pesantren (Islamic boarding school) for the country after independence. Moreover, the schools have been a source of scientific studies since the 14th century before the Dutch occupation,” Kamaruddin said in Jakarta.

He went on to say that since 2005, a total of 4,276 students have received the scholarships, 3,428 of whom have graduated with bachelor degree, while the remaining 848 are still at college.

“The graduates are expected to be tough generations and to become a milestone for sustainability of pesantren as well as to become moderate scientists who will fill important positions in the country. This scholarship program is also in line with the Government’s efforts to make the country the world’s destination of Islamic education,” Kamaruddin said.

In the meantime, the Ministry’s Director of Religious Education and Islamic Boarding School Ahmad Zayadi said that this year the Government provides scholarships for 290 Islamic students to study at 14 universities, both State Islamic Universities (PTKIN) and public universities.

Those universities are as follows: Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic State University in Jakarta, Sunan Ampel Islamic State University in Surabaya, Sunan Kalijaga Islamic State University in in Yogyakarta, Walisongo Islamic State University in Semarang,  Maulana Malik Ibrahim Islamic State University in Malang,Sunan Gunung Djati Islamic State University in Bandung, UIN Alauddin Makassar, the Bogor Agricultural University, Sepuluh November Institute of Technology (ITS) in Surabaya, Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta, Airlangga University in Surabaya, Indonesian University of Education in Bandung, Cendrawasih University in Jayapura, and Indonesia’s Al-Azhar University (UAI) Jakarta.

“In addition to tuition fees, the students will also receive monthly allowance and training funds,” Zayadi said.

However, unlike the previous scholarship program, this year’s program will only be granted exclusively to private madrasah aliyah schools (equivalent to high school) within pesantrens. “Two years ago, the scholarships were also provided to students at state religious high school (MAN), while this year the scholarships are granted to students at private madrasah aliyah only,” Zayadi said.

For more information on this program, log on to http://pbsb.ditpdpontren.kemenag.go.id  (Bureau Data and Information of Ministry of Religious Affairs/EN) (MUR/EP/YM/Naster).

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