ABSTRACT
Functionalization of the national education in general and Islamic education in particular entails two interrelated integral aspects: standardization and nationalization. Standardization refers to the streamlining and homogenizing of national education based on a single standard set by the central government. The standard typically requires schools to adhere to a common curriculum, teach students to pass compulsory national exams, use mandated textbooks, employ teachers who are certified by the ministry, among others. Nationalization of education involves attempts by the state to build more national public schools and incorporate more privately run schools into the national education system. Normatively speaking, by clustering as many schools as possible within the national education system and enforcing a single standard of education on these schools, the state can be more effective in propagating its values among the population at large. These values, which can be religious and/or nationalistic, can serve as one of the means for the state to maintain its legitimacy and prolong its rule. Of course, in reality, not every state has the capacity to standardize and nationalize education and schools in the country due to the tensions between state institutions dealing with national and Islamic education as well as strong influences from various groups within the society, which will be amply demonstrated later in this chapter.
