Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Al-Azhar University, Egypt, to strengthen synergy in education.
"This visit is conducted to strengthen synergy between the ministry and Al-Azhar, primarily in the acceptance of new students," he noted through a written statement on Wednesday.
During this visit to Egypt, he is scheduled to meet with the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar Ahmed Al-Tayeb.
Meanwhile, Islamic Education Director General M. Ali Ramdhani said the cooperation between the ministry and Al-Azhar is very important, and it is something that the people are looking forward to.
This is due to the fact that the interest of Indonesian students to study at Al-Azhar is very high. In addition, the role of Al-Azhar in education and culture in the world is also renowned.
The cooperation through the MoU inking between the ministry and Al-Azhar is undertaken to improve the management of transfer for Indonesian students, who study in Egypt, he explained.
According to Ramdhani, four aspects are stipulated within the MoU between the ministry and Al-Azhar. The first involves improvement in the new student transfer management through Al-Azhar's standardized equality (muadalah) exam system.
For the second aspect, all Islamic school alumni have the opportunity to continue their study at Al-Azhar University after giving the exam held jointly by the ministry and Al-Azhar.
The third aspect concerns ensuring the competence of Islamic school graduates in Indonesia that will enter Al-Azhar University through Indonesian students' acceptance requirements based on the decision of the Al-Azhar Supreme Council.
Lastly, this cooperation opens the opportunity for prospective students to register and continue their study in the bachelor program established by Al Azhar or in higher education institutions that have double degree program.
These institutions can also be those that have cooperation in certain fields in Indonesia with Al-Azhar University, Ramdhani explained.
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