President hopes Islamic educational institutions will continue to grow

Jakarta, NU Online
President Joko Widodo has expressed hope that Islamic educational institutions will continue to evolve and become the equivalents of other public schools.<>

"I have seen in many cities that Islamic schools are excellent and hence, good alternatives to public schools. We should be grateful for this progress," the President said while attending the transformation of State Islamic Colleges here on Friday (19/12).

The President remarked that in many regions, there were many Islamic universities and institutes that had superior majors.

"There are good opportunities in agriculture and medicine. Islamic educational institutions should strive to meet the needs of the state government that needs experts," the Head of State said.

The President expressed hope that the quality of Islamic educational institutions will make them eligible to compete with other educational institutions.

On the occasion, the President inaugurated the revised status of three State Institue for Islamic Studies (IAINs) into state Islamic universities (UIN), namely State Islamic University Walisongo Semarang, Central Java State Islamic University Raden Fatah Palembang, South Sumatera, and State Islamic University Medan, North Sumatra.

The President also inaugurated the revised status of Islamic Religion College as the State Islamic Science Institute (IAIN) and others such as IAIN Samarinda, IAIN Palangkaraya, IAIN Kendari, IAIN Manado, IAIN Jember, IAIN Salatiga, IAIN Purwokerto, IAIN Palopo and IAIN Langsa.

The President was accompanied by the Religious Affairs Minister  Lukman Hakim and rectors of the universities and the IAIN.

Editing by Sudarto Murtaufiq