Indonesian Govt Sends 17 Islamic Students To South Thailand

Jakarta, Sept 12 (Antara) - Indonesia`s Religious Affairs Ministry has sent 17 Islamic students from several boarding schools across the country to South Thailand as part of an exchange program with the Southern Border Province Administrative Center (SBPAC), Thailand. Religious Affairs Ministry`s Boarding School Education spokesperson Mohammad Zen stated here on Friday that the 17 Islamic students are scheduled to undertake a three-year agribusiness program in six colleges across South Thailand. The six colleges are Pattani College of Agricultural Technology and Fishery, Princess of Naradhiwas University, Songkhla Tinnasulanon College of Fishery, Satun College of Agriculture and Technology, Nardhiwat College of Agricultural Technology, and Songkhla of Agricultural and Technology. Mohammad Zen explained that the 17 Islamic students who hailed from some boarding schools included Al Masturiah in Sukabumi (West Java), Al Kautsar in Batam (Riau Island), Qomarul Huda in Lombok (West Nusa Tenggara), Darul Amal in Metro Lampung (Lampung), and Al Ittifaq in Bandung (West Java). They will be entitled to receive scholarship allowance worth 54 thousand Thai baht or about US $1,678 per year. Zen noted that the student exchange program was a follow-up to the agreement between the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs and the SBPAC, which was inked at the Naradhiwas University of Thailand in September 2013. "From Thailand, the SBPAC sends several students to study in undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs in some Indonesian universities, such as the State Islamic University of Jakarta and in Yogyakarta," he revealed. The Indonesian students left for Thailand on Thursday (Sept. 11), after undergoing a cultural orientation program from the Thai Consulate in Jakarta, Khemmrutai Khemmarat, and receiving intensive language training from a Thai exchange student, Arphandee, in the State Islamic University of Jakarta. Religious Affairs Ministry`s Director of Elementary and Boarding School A. Saifuddin stated during his speech prior to the departure that the students were expected to return to their boarding schools and practice the agribusiness skills they had imbibed in Thailand. The 17 Indonesian exchange students have arrived in the Pattani College of Agricultural Technology and Fishery of Thailand and received a warm welcome from Director of Education Policy Coordination of Religion, Culture, and Sports Preecha Watchasart.