Indonesia-Australia Partnership launches Islamic education initiatives

The Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Bill Farmer, today announced three Australian Government-funded initiatives worth over A$11 million (IDR 87 billion) to improve the quality of education in Indonesia’s Islamic schools.

The package of initiatives is funded under the five-year, A$30 million (IDR 234 billion) Learning Assistance Program in Islamic Schools (LAPIS) through the Australian Government’s international development agency, AusAID.

The new initiatives aim to improve the English language teaching capabilities of 750 Madrasah Tsanawiyah (Junior High School) teachers, to build the capacity of three Islamic universities to design and deliver quality degree programs for Madrasah Ibtidaiyah (Primary school) teachers, and to promote equal learning opportunities for boys and girls in East Java, NTB and South Sulawesi.

At today’s ceremony at the State Islamic Institute IAIN Sunan Ampel in Surabaya, Mr Farmer, accompanied by Prof Dr Arief Furqon, Expert Staff Ministry of Religious Affairs, noted the importance of the LAPIS initiative in striving to bridge the gap between general education and Islamic education in Indonesia.

“The new initiatives are another step forward for the Indonesia-Australia education partnership, and for the improvement of Islamic education,” Mr Farmer said.

“We are keen to continue to support Islamic schools, given the important role they play in Indonesia’s education system, particularly for poor students in remote areas,” the Ambassador said.

There are nearly 40,000 registered Islamic schools in Indonesia (about 20 per cent of all schools), which educate about six million students.

Australia is also funding the construction and expansion of 2000 schools, including 500 madrasah, in 20 provinces, with the aim of creating 330,000 new junior secondary school places in Indonesia by mid 2009, under a Rp2.5 trillion program.

Education assistance forms a large part of Australia’s IDR 3.4 trillion annual development cooperation program in Indonesia, with health care, governance and infrastructure the other main areas of support. Indonesia is now the largest recipient of Australian development assistance.

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