Padang Students Brush Up on Koran: Medan, Sumatra, Indonesia

By Wombat | May 30th, 2006 | No Comments

Forget about the standard academic proficiency indicators of math, science or reading comprehension in Padang, West Sumatra. Instead, it will be Koranic literacy which determines whether elementary schoolchildren can continue their education in the West Sumatra capital.

Officials insist that certification of a child’s Koranic reading and writing skills will be compulsory for junior high school admission in the coming academic year.

Even newcomers to the city will be tested. If a child fails, his or her parents will be obliged to sign a declaration pledging their commitment to teach their child the Arabic colloquium.

City education agency head M. Nur Amin dismisses charges that it is religious strong-arming. He argues members of society can only be devout if they can read and write in the language of Islam’s holy book.

There will be no reprieve for Muslim children sent to Christian private elementary schools.

Amin also brushed aside accusations of religious chauvinism at a time when the nation is struggling for the betterment of Indonesia’s next generation by implementing a compulsory nine-year education minimum for all children.

“We are simply trying to realize Padang’s vision of being a pious and religious city,” he said.

Amin could argue he is simply applying local ordinance No. 6/2003, which stipulates its dictates should be enforced by 2006. And he may not be wrong in stating confidently that “all (Muslim) elementary school graduates students in Padang already have a certificate”.

West Sumatra is known for its strong cultural traditions rooted in the Islamic faith. Religion-based local regulations include a recommendation for female students to wear headscarves.

Padang is just one of many regions that have recently imposed sharia-based regulations, despite them being declared unconstitutional. The regional autonomy law does allow for local administrations to issue regulations, but religion remains the domain of the state.

The government and leading mainstream Islamic groups, such as Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, have all rejected the sectarian regulations but little has been done to revoke them.

A local non-governmental organization supporting pluralism in society, Pusaka, is doubtful that showy public displays of religious piety actually make for a more moral society.

“Koranic skills, headscarves in schools should not be regulated. That should be left to parents,” said Pusaka director Sudarto, who is also a teacher of religious studies at a leading private high school in the city.
“Authorities should not take over the role of mosques.”

Amin is undaunted by the criticism.

“We have prepared 6,000 certificates to be distributed to schools,” he said.

“This year, Koranic reading courses can issue certificates, but next year only schools and courses accredited by the local religious affairs office will be recognized”.

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb