Al-Azhar Indonesia Foundation, Serving High Quality Education Basic on Islam Principles

Previously, some people thought putting their children in the Islamic school is not as good as when they put their children in a public school. But now, parents should not worry anymore. Al-Azhar Indonesia Foundation promising the best quality with Islam as the basic of teaching. By Rahma Regina

After 48 years away from the day it was established, Al-Azhar Indonesia foundation has grown from one big mosque which accommodate people who want to learn about Islam into a reliable center of excellence with 32 Kindergartens, 31 Elementary Schools, 18 Junior High Schools and six Senior High Schools. Al-Azhar Indonesia Foundation also own about half of shares in Al-Azhar Indonesia University.
“People now believe that education basic on Islam principles can also provide the best quality education which is usually provided by public schools. In this foundation we are not teaching about Islam principles only, we also give the international standard of education, even better compared with other public schools,” says Hariri Hady, the chief of Al-Azhar Indonesia Foundation.
Thus, the foundation is trying to serve modern Islam education system which combines the science and technology with faith. Hariri said that Indonesia needs educated people with good morals, so that they can build this country into the better condition. That is why, Al Azhar foundation keep telling to the society that education based on Islam values is better than ordinary formal education. The reason is because in this system, students are taught about how to act in society basic on Islam after they had graduated.
Hariri is sure that Al-Azhar Indonesia foundation has implant good morals into every student that had studied in this place. “Al-Azhar Indonesia foundation had succeeded in making a good system and I’m quite sure this foundation had served the best education.” But even they had improved the foundation into this huge education center, it is not stopped there. Not enough with building education institution by their own budget, Al-Azhar foundation also allowed other foundation to cooperate with them and makes some kind of branch schools of Al-Azhar.
As an effort to further boost its education system, Al-Azhar Indonesia foundation has now developed some partnership with 25 other foundations. To name the education institution with “Al-Azhar”, these foundations had to complete the conditions from Al-Azhar Indonesia. The conditions include the standard of buildings, facilities and minimum capital of the foundation. Al-Azhar will give the lesson to their teachers about how to educate students with its system. In that way other foundation can give education in the same quality with Al-Azhar. As the repayment, those foundations had to give 10% of the schools’ profit.
“We still trying to build other schools under our own foundation, but we welcome other foundation who want to use our name and give the same system as we did. But they had to pay the license,” says Hariri. However, the main purpose in expanding Al-Azhar is not the profit. He told CampusAsia that the real purpose is the the expansion of modern Islam education system which can make the youngsters become better and better.
Until now, the total of the students under Al-azhar foundation are about 30.000 person and 1.600 teachers. The schools are spread into six provinces (Jakarta, West Java, Middle Java, East Java, West Borneo and Wet Sumatera) and 21 cities (South Jakarta, West Jakarta, East Jakarta, Bekasi, Tangerang, Serang, Sukabumi, Cibinong, Tasikmalaya, Cigombong, Serang, Cianjur, Yogyakarta, Solo, Cirebon, Semarang, Cilacap, Salatiga, Surabaya, Pontianak and Padang).
Hariri explains what makes Al-Azhar different with other education institution is the willing in creating good moral and religious generation. “We are balancing science, technology and faith in Islam. Frankly to say, Islam principles support the improvement in science and technology. So, it shouldn’t obstruct the production of educated and high quality human.”
Unfortunately, religion education in public schools is not as complete as in Al-Azhar schools. In the other hand parents are starting to become worried about their children environment. They need education with the best quality in science and technology but also give moral education. So that, their children are not only become the smart people but they also had good morality in every action.
This phenomenon had to be considered by the government of Indonesia. This far, education in Indonesia only concerned about the subject of learning. Moreover government published the rules that every student had passed the national examination. “What I’m worried about is, every school only paid attention to the subject in that national examination, so that moral educations are neglected.”
Hariri explains that what government had to do is not only focus on the subject of learning, but they had to execute education in a holistic way. “What is important right now is not only English, Indonesian language and math. Students also need moral and religion education for their soul,” he says.
When CampusAsia asked Hariri about the relation with Al-Azhar University in Kairo, Egypt, he takes a long breath. He said that many people had a wrong perception about the conection between Al-Azhar Indonesia with Al-Azhar Kairo in fact Al-Azhar Indonesia has nothing to do with Al-Azhar University in Kairo, Egypt. “We are separated and there is no connection between us. That is why we had a name Al-Azhar Indonesia not Al-Azhar only,” says Hariri.
Al-Azhar Indonesia is established in 1961. At that time, Buya Hamka invites the rector of Al-Azhar University of Kairo, Syaikh DR. Mahmud Syalthout to the big mosque. Then, Syaikh DR. Mahmud Syalthout asked Hamka to name that mosque with Al-Azhar. In the improvement, this mosque becomes the center of education until now as Al-Azhar Indonesia foundation.