Indonesia’s first state Catholic college in West Kalimantan ‎

Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation‎ now has its first state Catholic college. The State Catholic Institute (STAKatN) opened on 6 April in Pontianak, the capital of the West Kalimantan province.  Originally founded in 2006 as the Santo Agustinus Pastoral Institute, the new government-run educational institution began the long process of state accreditation in 2010, which recently ended with official approval from the Ministry of Religious Affairs. 

Andreas, a local Catholic, spoke to AsiaNews noting that the milestone was achieved due to the efforts of important local Catholic figures, such as the provincial governor, the bishop and priests.  Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saiffudin, West Kalimantan Governor Cornelis M H, Archbishop Agustinus Agus of Pontianak took part in the opening ceremony.  Arch. Agus invited all former students to adhere to the Church's mission in the province, so that Catholic education can remain strong for the local community.  "Providing a religious education to our people in this vast territory has been a great challenge for us because of the lack of catechists," he said. "Not only are there not enough teachers with a Catholic education, but teachers as a whole are a rarity in this province," the archbishop added.

More than 1,250 students have graduated from the institute in its ten-year history, 31 of whom have since embarked on an academic career.  More than 700 other students have found jobs.   According to the education department in Pontianak only 355 schools in this huge province have teachers trained at Catholic schools. Overall, "we have 1,222 high schools across the province," Arch. Agus pointed out.  Out of 4,341 primary schools, only 1,603 have Catholic teachers. Out of 378 senior high schools, only 89 have Catholic teachers," the prelate added.

A shortage of priests and catechists is one of the biggest problems for the Catholic community in Kalimantan, the Indonesian portion of Borneo island comprising 5 provinces . It has only four dioceses in the western province, and only one for each of the central, southern, and eastern provinces.  Bishop Pius Riana Prapdi of Ketapang in West Kalimantan told AsiaNews last year that the lack of Catholic educators was the main obstacle to spreading the faith.  Difficult economic conditions in remote areas of Indonesia, exacerbated by the lack of infrastructure, put "human development" at the centre of the Church's mission.  One of the best ways to meet this goal is to offer the best possible education to local youth, Bishop Prapdi said.   (Source: AsiaNews)