The Dynamic of Madrasah in Indonesia

Dr. Rohmat Mulyana

1. Overview

Madrasah is one of the important educational institutions in Indonesia. It is developed by Muslim community since the coming of Islam to Indonesia through traders from India and China land in 11 century. The appearance of madrasah was not so far after Pesantren (Islamic boarding school) initialized the traditional Islamic education institutions in some part of places in Indonesia.

Because Pesantren teaches the only Islamic field branches, many people of Muslim community try to take initiative to broaden the scope of Islamic education toward contemporary knowledge and science, like mathematic, natural science, international language, social science etc. The initiation basically was caused the unsupported educational system for santri (pupil who learn in Pesantren) to access public school. Learning in merely Islamic field branches was regarded by government as too minimum capability to have opportunity to learn in public schools. In that time, therefore there are many santri who could not continue their study to public school.

After Independence Day in 1945, much Muslim community with their particularity built private madrasah close to Pesantren. A rapid development was then anticipated by the Old Order government (Soekarno era) through reorganizing some potential madrasahs to become public madrasah. Meanwhile, other thousand madrasahs remain in their status as private madrasahs and since the time the quality of private madrasah becomes left behind on those are of the public one.

When New Order government (Soeharto era) take over the country in 1955, madrasah remained in their low academic quality. On the other hand the majority of madrasahs had lower quality than those of public secular schools that was formed in the line of thought of colonialism (Dutch and Javanese). And, when the government implemented a basic education program through the so-called “SD Inpres” (Building elementary school by president instruction policy), madrasah in particularly basic madrasah (Madrasah Ibtidaiyah) was also neglected. Madrasah, in turn, always face crucial problem in improving their quality day by day.

Something that makes madrasah always in their suitability is the community support for the existence of madrasah. Muslim, whether they were from the same Islamic schools community or not, take participation to build madrasah by self-finance regulation. Therefore day by day the number of private madrasah was going to increase and the enrollment has become larger. These phenomena then proved that madrasah was rooted from community support and initiated by each Islamic organization. For example, the organization of Nahdatul Ulama pioneered Al-Ma’arif madrasahs, Muhamadiyah built Muhamadiyah madrasahs, and also the other Islamic organizations took the same effort for building their madrasahs.

In 1974 there was such protest from madrasah community to respond the policy that limited madrasahs’ alumni to get chance to go to public university. The protest then was answered by government by forwarding a joint decision letter among three departments namely Ministry of Domestic Affairs, Ministry of Religious Affairs, and Ministry of National Education. Since the joint decision, many madrasahs’ alumni then have a good access to go to public university. Other than this, the pesantren's alumni also have opportunity to get national examination for the equality of education as long as the pesantren teach general science.

In 1980s, madrasah were still in their position in which their quality was lower than public secular school. But the people of certain Islamic community schools remained put madrasah as second alternative for their children education if they failed to go to a public school. The consideration of most parents to put madrasah as second alternative, in turn, supports the existence of madrasah. Such condition occurs because the number of public schools has limited capacity to enroll all school-age children that their population increased year by year.

In the dynamic development of madrasah, many people send their children to madrasah according their organizational background. People who hold Nahdatul Ulama organization tend to send their children to Ma’arif Madrasah (a typical madrasah was built by NU community), and in the same time those who hold Muhamadiyah organization let their children to visit Muhamadiyah madrasah. It was very seldom to find a family who let their children to learn in Madrasah that out of his own organizational background, except for them who are able to involve rational consideration on choosing the more better quality of education for their children. So, for a long time madrasahs were blocked by the distinction of socio-religious organization, like Nahdatul Ulama (NU), Muhamadiyah, Persatuan Islam (Persis), Al-Irsyad, etc. These phenomena make madrasah face internal competition among different Muslim community.

In 1990s when New Order government has significantly involved to international loan, like IMF, World Bank, ADB, IDB etc, the quality improvement of madrasah got serious attention from government. Ministry of Religious Affairs, for instance, built some model madrasahs in 27 provinces and developed some other policies to increase madrasah quality in vocational education. Many public madrasah received block grant for building their capacity and completing their equipments. But again, private madrasah has no better financial aid from government.

Regarding the dynamic development of private madrasah, many rich people were interested in supporting the existence of madrasah. Under a certain NGO or institute, they participate to share their alms and wealthy for building madrasah. Among the people came from intellectual who know how to build a high quality madrasah. This movement of private madrasah then was able to succeed a number of favorite and competitive madrasah in some regions. Now, almost in every province a well-performed madrasah can be found. Among the best madrasah are Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Bumi Serpong in Banten Province, Madrasah Ibtidaiyah and Madrasah Tsanawiyah Malang in East Java Province.

In 2000s, madrasah are more prospective than some previous years. Government of Indonesia has given better support to operational need of madrasah. Many of madrasah receipt block grant through international grant and loan as well as from national budget. Today, for example, some madrasah are being supported to improve their quality through the program of Decentralized Basic Education (DBE) that is funded by USAID. Beside, Ministry of Religious Affairs has begun to create a number of New Madrasah in six provinces. This program is implemented by using international grant from AusAID. And, other program also was provided by government to recover the effect of economic crisis that occur since 1987. The program is called as Program Konpensasi Pengurangan Subsidi Bahan Bakar Minyak (Oil retrenchment subsidy compensation) through which all students of basic education, madrasah and schools as well as private and public education receipt this kind of block grant.

2. Current Shifting of Madrasah and Its Cause

There are significant differences between the phenomena of madrasah development in 1980s and 2000s. In the time period of 1980s madrasah were often neglected by elite community, but conversely public secular school has become predominant education for sending their children. This phenomenon actually goes on up to the year 1990s when there only a few madrasahs can prove their good quality. In the beginning of 2000s, madrasahs improve gradually their reputation through some learning innovation.

Unfortunately, the phenomenon just occurs in several madrasahs where a modern management is applied in organizing the institution. For other madrasahs, especially for those are located in remote area; they remain in a very traditional system. Their system is often copped by personal decision like by the leader of pesantren or kiyai whom his community often follow his decision. In this case madrasah similar to pesantren is frequently called as charismatic institution rather than democratic one.

Although such management system has become the weakness of madrasah organization, the sustainability of madrasah has never shaken. When a madrasah is being collapse, other twenties new madrasahs may be being built by Muslim community in different places. This is actually an interesting phenomenon which happens in the realm of education in Indonesia in which approximately 260 million people live in the country.

An actual progress report provided by Educational Management and Information System (EMIS) of Ministry of religious affairs proves that madrasah has got significant increase for their enrollment. It happens actually in certain level of education, particularly in Senior Secondary Madrasah (Madrasah Tsanawiyah). The data perform that participation index average of school-age students in this level reach 12% a year since 2002. Meanwhile in basic level madrasah (Madrasah Ibtidaiyah) the index is more stable in 9% and in senior secondary madrasah (Madrasah Aliyah) is 5%.

For some reasons, therefore, it is interesting to analyze the cause of enrollment increase in Madrasah. One of more possible cause is the program of Nine Years Basic Education Compulsory which has been proclaimed by government of Indonesia since 1987. This policy effect the importance of good attention on basic education in Indonesia. That is why; one of the most important programs to support the compulsory education is giving a block grant to schools and madrasah in that level. Through this program, the government of Indonesia gives Rp. 235.000 a year for a student of Elementary school and Rp. 324.500 a year for a student of Junior High School, including Madrasah student. And for student of Senior Secondary Schools, government allocates Rp. 65.000 a month per student. This fund can be used for operational necessities in schools and through it also is expected the school are able to minimize or to free the educational fee.

But in more critical analysis, we can ask whether the increase of enrollment of madrasah is really caused by this financial aid or not. To answer this question, we can not neglect some possible aspects involved in. We, of course, cannot put the economic reason as simply as the primary caused of the increase since we look madrasah as a unique educational institution.

For clear explanation, therefore, it is necessary to look the cause in the perspective of parents’ motivation to send their children to madrasah. A more comprehensive description may be concerned with the following issues.

First, looking from economic dimension, it is regarded that many people of Indonesia living in middle-lower earners. Pikiran Rakyat daily newspaper has ever released that approximately 40% of Indonesian live in poverty after national economic crisis 1998. This condition effects to the people of the group in willingness to send their children to school. The role of government and international funding to support basic education, therefore, is one of reasonable cause of the increasing enrollment of Madrasah. In fact, the ability to pay school cost is being more popular reason in spite of other reasons. But we have to be careful to understand reason because most of family is often easily to speak education in terms of instrumental aspect rather than intrinsic one.

Second, looking from accessibility, most of madrasah are located in remote area where many middle-lower family live in there. Here madrasah may become the first choice for remote people to send their children to learn. If they send their children to a city, they of course have to spend much money. Therefore, the accessibility and the feasibility of education are not mutually exclusive for the people who live in remote area. According to data provided by EMIS (2005), there are 93% of madrasah located in remote area and most of them are private madrasah.

Third, looking from community loyalty, many people of Muslim community perceive madrasah as incomparable education institution. Their notion to madrasah is basically affected by their community belief, loyalty, and commitment. It is actually more tend to intrinsic value rather than instrumental value of education. As cited above, their commitment, loyalty and belief are clung since their involvement in building madrasah in certain Islamic community schools like NU, Muhamadiyah, Persis, Al-Irsyad, and some others. This reason is very seldom to be conveyed by people, because they regard it as sensitive and exclusive reason that must be hold by their own Islamic community organization. It also means that there is an internal and closed competition between one Islamic school community and others. But the real competition, in turn, give positive impact to the participation index of education in general since the member of community feel better to send their children to madrasah in spite of public secular school.

Last, looking from family ideals, many people who have very simple idea of what their children would be. If we ask some people who send their children to madrasah, the first answer often refers to the need of good boy or good girl. Such answer is quite familiar be given by lower educated parents in remote area. Such ideals of parents in turn affect their willingness to send their children to Madrasah in which they convince madrasah as an appropriate institution to achieve their ideals. Family commitment to moral education also appears in city area. Different from that belief by people in remote area, the people in the city look significance of moral education for their children because of the social environmental threats. Many casual crimes like drug, sex, drinking, etc involve the students of public secular schools. Therefore, many families regard public secular schools have no intensive effort for religious moral education. Because of that, many people belief that that cause that make some student of public secular school involve in any social crime are sourced from the lack of intensive religious moral education in school. For this reason, it is easy to understand if some families feel more convenient to send their children to madrasah in spite of to public school.

3. Conclusions

From the explanation in part 1 and 2, the gist of ideal lays down two essential issues, they are: Firstly, madrasah historically has long experienced for inconvenient treatment of education policy up to 1980-s, but now madrasah are having a good treatment as what has been receiving by public schools in general. Secondly, Madrasah has certain uniqueness if it is looked from their academic culture. Although many innovations have been introduced toward madrasah, almost all of them are still in their old commitment, particularly to cling Islamic belief to student. Thirdly, madrasah has become a good alternative for several parents to send their children to learn in there. In this case, emotional tight on madrasah tend to be more importance in spite of rational judgment. Fourth, even though there is an inclination that enrollment of madrasah tend to improve, madrasah in general are still in their low quality. Many weaknesses of madrasah concerned with quality of human resources, facility, management, and funding. **