10 Best Islamic Boarding Schools in Indonesia, the Oldest Founded in 1718

10 Best Islamic Boarding Schools in Indonesia, the Oldest Founded in 1718

Pondok Pesantren is the best, most popular, famous and most influential Islamic educational institution that has been around for a long time in Indonesia. Even before other modern educational institutions existed. Namely since the entry of Islam into Indonesian soil brought by Muslim traders, preachers, missionaries and guardians from abroad. 

It is said that the first pesantren was founded by one of the walisongo. Not all old pesantren still exist today. Some have closed because there is no successor, but there are also those that still exist, are popular and big until now. However, not a few new boarding schools beat the old ones because of innovations and breakthroughs in terms of management and learning systems. Here are the 10 best Islamic boarding schools in Indonesia that alkhoirot.net summarizes.

1. Pondok Pesantren SIDOGIRI PASURUAN

Sidogiri Islamic Boarding School ranks first as the best, most popular and most influential Islamic boarding school for many reasons: a) It is the oldest Islamic boarding school in Indonesia which not only still exists but continues to grow; b) Still daring to maintain the salaf education system, aka purely studying religious knowledge and at the same time maintaining the number of santri in the tens of thousands (male and female); c) Known as the only Islamic boarding school that has succeeded in becoming financially independent thanks to its very successful business ventures, starting from a financial institution called BMT (Baitul Mal Wat Tamwil) which has many branches, a minimarket (mart) franchise under the name Sidogiri Cooperative, and many other endeavors.

The commitment of the Sidogiri Islamic Boarding School which was established in 1718 to maintain the madrasah diniyah system up to the ma'had ali level (university level) named Tarbiyatul Mu'allimin and the sending of task teachers to various parts of the archipelago and the wide alumni network became important factors that made Sidogiri Islamic Boarding School become an easy choice as the best, oldest and most influential pesantren in Indonesia. 

2. LANGITAN TUBAN Islamic Boarding School

Ponpes Langitan which was founded in 1852 is an influential Islamic boarding school in the Surabaya area to the west, namely along the districts of Gresik, Lamongan, Tuban, Bojonegoro, Cepu. The charismatic figure of one of the caregivers, namely KH Abdullah Faqih in the national political arena, also adds to the recognition of the name of this pesantren.

Langitan Islamic Boarding School deserves respect for its ability to exist and even grow and develop without having to change its education system that adheres to the Salaf system.

3. PONDOK MODERN GONTOR

Pondok Modern Gontor is a pioneer and innovator of modern pesantren which was inspired by, among others, the modernization of Islamic education carried out by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, founder of Aligarh Muslim University in India. The change from Ponpes Darussalam Gontor, which is salaf to modern, makes this pesantren an Islamic educational institution that becomes a place for learning for urban communities who were previously reluctant to attend boarding schools.

Characteristics of modern pesantren in Gontor's style include high discipline, ability and habituation of Arabic and English by making it a daily language, and neatness of clothes by always wearing pants and ties at school, and so on.

Gontor is also the pioneer of the pesantren which imposes high and expensive fees on students . A new thing that is not commonly done by pesantren, especially in salaf pesantren. However, middle-class guardians of students are willing to dig deeper as long as it is in accordance with the quality offered. At the same time, this is a criticism of modern pesantren, especially from the poor who cannot afford to pay dearly for their children's education.

Another minus of the modern system is the lack of ability of its students to master classical Islamic literature known as the yellow book or the bald book. In addition, the etiquette of politeness is relatively different from that of the santri in the salaf pesantren.

But overall, the system implemented by Pondok Modern Gontor was very successful. And every success always creates a new trend. Currently, many Islamic boarding schools that call themselves "modern" are photocopying what Gontor has done with some modifications.

4. TEBUIRENG JOMBANG Islamic Boarding School

The Tebuireng Islamic Boarding School is known for its founding figure, the charismatic cleric who founded the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) organization in 1926, namely Kyai Hasyim Asy'ari whose son-KH Wahid Hasyim-- became the first Minister of Religion of the Republic of Indonesia while his grandson named KH Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid became the fourth president of the Republic of Indonesia and the first to come from among the santri .

In terms of the education system, Ponpes Tebuireng does not adhere to an innovative system like Gontor or maintain a salaf system like Langitan or Sidogiri. The Tebuireng Islamic Boarding School tends to be a bit stagnant, perhaps because its leadership figures are more often in Jakarta than in Jombang. However, Pondok Tebuireng still exists with an accommodative education system, namely formal education and a little diniyah education. More details: Tebuireng Islamic Boarding School.

5. AL-KHAIRAAT PALU Islamic Boarding School

Al-Khairaat Islamic Boarding School is the most popular and most influential Islamic boarding school outside Java, especially in Sulawesi and Eastern Indonesia. And the first major pesantren which was founded and raised by a habaib.

Al-Khairaat Islamic Boarding School has many branches in various regions in Eastern Indonesia. The total number of students is in the tens of thousands.

6. Islamic Boarding School DARUL ULUM BANYUANYAR MADURA

LPI Darul Ulum Banyuanyar Pamekasan Madura -- or better known as Pondok Banyuanyar -- is one of the 5 (five) oldest Islamic boarding schools in Indonesia. Founded in 1787 by Kyai Itsbat, this pesantren has grown rapidly until now.

In Madura, especially in Pameksan district, the Banyuanyar pesantren has no small influence. The education system in this pesantren adheres to a combination of salaf and modern systems. Mastery of the yellow book is maintained and formal education according to the government curriculum is also held to meet the challenges and demands of the times. Therefore, it is not surprising that many alumni of this pesantren have become influential figures.

7. Nurul Islamic Boarding School in Probolinggo

Ponpes Nurul Jadid Paiton can be said to be the most complete boarding school in terms of formal education facilities other than religious education. This boarding school has educational institutions from the lowest level such as kindergarten, junior high school (MTS, junior high school), senior high school (SMA, MA, SMK) to universities with various majors, both religion (STAINJ) and science such as information technology (STT Nurul Jadid) and health. (STICK).

In addition, madrasah diniyah, ma'had aly and tahfidz Al-Quran are also available in this pesantren, so there is no reason for Muslims not to send their sons to pesantren because of the absence of the major they are looking for. More details: Nurul Jadid Paiton Islamic Boarding School

8. MUSTHOFAWIYAH PURBA SUMUT Islamic Boarding School

The oldest Islamic boarding school in North Sumatra is the most popular and best Islamic boarding school in North Sumatra and also the oldest (established in 1912). Many of its alumni have become local and national figures. Not a few continue to study abroad both in the Middle East and the West.

The Purba Baru Islamic Boarding School, as it is commonly known, is a combination boarding school between the modern system and the Salaf. Modern because of the formal education system and the Salaf because it also teaches the yellow book. 

9. BUNTET CIREBON Islamic Boarding School

Pondok Pesantren which is very well known in West Java and is one of the oldest Islamic boarding schools (established in 1785) in Indonesia.

This pesantren became the forerunner of other pesantren in the provinces of West Java, Banten and DKI Jakarta. Many of the pesantren caregivers in the three areas are alumni of the Buntet Islamic Boarding School. Thus, this pesantren deserves to be called one of the most influential pesantren. The education system adheres to a combination of salaf and modern. 

10. AL-KHOIROT MALANG Islamic Boarding School

Al-Khoirot Islamic Boarding School Malang is relatively young (established in 1963) when compared to other pesantren that are in the top 10 best pesantren. What distinguishes this pesantren from other pesantren is its ability to integrate a number of educational systems into one holistic education package for all students . Not surprisingly, the caretaker of the Banyuanyar Islamic Boarding School is currently one of the alumni of the Al-Khoirot Islamic Boarding School.

The education system adopted at the Al-Khoirot Islamic boarding school is a combination of four types of patterns, namely formal education, madin education (madrasah diniyah) which is 100 percent religious, modern Arabic and advanced (deepening) level yellow book studies. These four educational activities are the main activities that must be followed by all students . So that students not only have a formal diploma but also master the yellow book and are fluent in Arabic. In addition, there are additional programs such as tahfidzul Quran (memorization of the Quran), which is an optional program and Ma'had Aly .

For advanced level students , the Ma'had Aly program is a special program that aims to control students over the law-making system (istinbat al-hukm).

No less important than that is the moral education of al-karimah, namely the education of nobility in the style of santri which is expected to be the pinnacle of achievement of the knowledge possessed.

In addition, by utilizing information technology, Al-Khoirot Islamic Boarding School has a community service program in the form of online Islamic Religious Consultation via the internet. This free service is supervised by the Board of Trustees of Al-Khoirot Islamic Boarding School itself. This religious consultation was widely accepted by the Muslim community both in Indonesia and abroad such as Singapore and Malaysia.