Dayah or pesantren represents the most genuine traditional education system in Indonesia that has persevered through time. Its survival isn’t merely coincidental; rather, it stems from unique sub-cultural elements that distinctly characterize Indonesia.
One of its standout qualities is its strong independence, free from external interventions. In many ways, it operates as a self-governing school, allowing leaders like Teungku to freely express their ideas in running all activities aimed at enhancing the students’ abilities.
To maintain this independence, dayah organizes various economic activities to meet financial needs. They also provide skill training to students, enabling them to be self-sufficient after their studies, without relying on external support, including the government. These skills range from basic trades to household industries, empowering them to generate income.
In preparing a civil society, dayah faces increasing educational challenges. The contribution of Islamic educational institutions is not just about crystallizing spirituality but also integrating with dynamic discourses.
Dayah aims to cultivate a society marked by openness, egalitarianism, cosmopolitanism, democracy, and broad knowledge—both in spiritual aspects and worldly knowledge. Consequently, there’s been serious attention to reevaluating Islamic educational institutions.
Addressing today’s educational reality, dayah is striving to modernize Islamic education. This effort seeks to discover an ideal educational format as an alternative education system for Indonesia’s future. Leveraging the strengths of past education becomes a framework for reconstructing educational concepts. Outdated educational systems are being left behind, not relevant to current times.
The integration of these educational institutions results in a comprehensive Islamic education system, emphasizing not only classical Islamic knowledge but also academic integrity.
These institutions, represented by dayah, aim not just to impart classical Arabic but also English language skills, essential for contemporary learning. Their curriculum blends classic learning traditions with Western styles in teaching and subjects.
However, dayah must continually improve and innovate its education system and teaching methods to compete globally and produce high-quality graduates. Their task is weightier, not just producing competent graduates in STEM fields but also nurturing quality IMTAQ (Islamic Moral and Character) to tackle the challenges of our times.
A fundamental phenomenon in contemporary Muslim education is the separation between institutions focusing on different orientations—some emphasizing general knowledge while others solely traditional studies.
Pesantrens aim to dissolve this educational dualism, harnessing the positives of both and discarding their shared weaknesses. The effort is to compromise between these two institutions, ultimately creating an ideal educational system, known as Indonesia’s convergence education system. This initiative is rooted in merging scholarly elements.
Islamic education history showcases the balance between religious and worldly knowledge during Islam’s zenith. Scholar Hasan Langgulung emphasize that this balance only waned during weaker times, not due to Islam but due to a rejection of knowledge sourced from the West. Thus, this new education system aligns with the integration of these two disciplines, demanding the Islamic education world to update itself to catch up with technological advancements.
Future Islamic educational institutions shouldn’t solely concentrate on Islamic studies but also emphasize subjects like mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology (STEM), and others. These fields are necessary to enhance the competitiveness of Muslims in the current 4.0 era and beyond.
This concept revolves around integrating the general curriculum applied in mainstream education into Islamic education, resulting in a cohesive blend of both disciplines.
Fundamentally, this concept seeks to harmonize modern and traditional education systems. Hence, the unity concept (Islamic values, Indonesian identity, and scholarly knowledge) serves as a solution to address the emergence of split personalities caused by the lack of complexity in educational components.
Dayah, in societal life, functions not only as a producer of religious scholars but also as a source of righteous national leaders and professionals driven by moral values instilled by national education. Due to advancements in pesantren education, students are required to commit strongly to their competencies and professionalism, becoming agents of religious change and change-makers in various societal domains.
Competence and professionalism arise from dedication to tasks, commitment to processes, work quality, and continuity. It involves constant improvement and adaptation to contemporary demands. The concept revolves around preserving relevant old values and adopting newer, more relevant ones.
The dayah education system integrates Islamic, Indonesian, and scientific elements, projected as an alternative to meet civil society’s demands. The students’ competence lies in their commitment to learning both Islamic and general sciences, preparing them to face the challenges of the digital era. The aspiration is that by continuously improving the professionalism of students through education, they will be better equipped to uphold Islam in our rapidly evolving world.