INDONESIA

Students flocking to join Islamic-based institutions

Students are flocking into Islamic-based higher education institutions as the government plans to turn Indonesia into a global centre for Islamic study, writes Hans Nicholas Jong for The Jakarta Post.

The Religious Affairs Ministry, in charge of managing Islamic higher education institutions, said recently that the number of applicants taking the entrance exam for public Islamic universities grew 10%, to 77,224 people, compared with last year.

“It shows that Islamic higher education institutions are no longer second-class institutions, but have already become the primary choice [for many students],” said the ministry’s academic development head Muhammad Zain.
Full report on The Jakarta Post site