(08/15/2007)
JAKARTA - Australian Ambassador to IndonesiaBill Farmer on Wednesday announced three-Australain government-funded initiatives worth over A$11 million (US$9.24 million)to improve the quality of education in Indonesia's Islamic schools.

According to Australian embassy media release on Wednesday, the package of initiatives is funded under the five-year, A$30 million Learning Assistance Program in Islamic Schools (LAPIS) through the Australian Government's international development agency, AusAID.

The new initiatives aim to improve the English language teaching capabilities of 750 Madrasah Tsanawiyah (Islamic Junior High School) teachers, to build the capacity of three Islamic universitiesto design and deliver quality degree programs for Madrasah Ibtidaiyah (Primary school) teachers, and to promote equal learning opportunities for boys and girls in East Java, NTB and South Sulawesi.

At Wednesday's ceremony at the State Islamic Institute IAIN Sunan Ampel in Surabaya, East Java, Farmer, accompanied by Arief Furqon, expert staff of Ministry of Religious Affairs, noted the importance of the LAPIS initiative in striving to bridge the gap between general education and Islamic education in Indonesia. (JP/ant/PAB)