Governor of East Java Khofifah Indar Parawansa affirmed East Java as a treasure trove of Islamic scholars and encouraged the movement for religious understanding (tafaqquh fiddin) across various professions while delivering an academic address at the Fifth Cohort Graduation of Ma'had Aly Nurul Cholil in Bangkalan. "To be able to build religious understanding across various other professions, God willing, East Java is the treasure house of scholars. And the abundance of scholars here provides extraordinary benefits to East Java," said Khofifah.
Khofifah reaffirmed the East Java Provincial Government's commitment to supporting religious higher education through various scholarship programmes distributed through the East Java Provincial Institute for the Development of Islamic Schools and Madrasahs. Between 2019 and 2026, 7,976 students have benefited from the scholarship programme. Support for Ma'had Aly education was recorded as being given to 240 students in 2019, 425 students in 2021, 285 students in 2023, 45 students in 2024, 380 students in 2025, and 105 students in 2026.
The East Java Provincial Government's scholarship programme for undergraduate and postgraduate studies at Al-Azhar University in Cairo recorded recipients of 30 students in 2021, 30 students in 2022, 30 students in 2023, 33 students in 2024, 35 students in 2025, and 30 students in 2026. Khofifah stated that those who return from Al-Azhar are Al-Azhar scholars, not merely Al-Azhar graduates.
Khofifah urged graduates to become experts in their fields and be capable of addressing contemporary challenges. She hoped that Ma'had Aly Nurul Cholil would not stop at the undergraduate level but would continue to develop education through postgraduate and doctoral programmes. "Nurul Cholil, God willing, has great potential for advancement to the next stage. May everything proceed in line with the Ma'had Aly programme," she said.
Director of Ma'had Aly Nurul Cholil KH Ahmad Faqoth Zubair appreciated Governor Khofifah's support and asked the students to heed the Governor's academic address as preparation for serving the community. "Therefore, I hope the academic address and the Governor's advice are listened to and need to be noted as knowledge and preparation for all of you to work in the community," said KH Ahmad Faqoth Zubair.
