Teacher and Lecturer Certification in Indonesian Islamic Education: Policy Frameworks Implementation Mechanismsand Challenges

Abstract

The teacher and lecturer certification policy is one of the government's instruments to ensure the professionalism of educators and improve the quality of education, including in the Islamic education environment. This article discusses the objectives and objectives of the certification policy, its implementation mechanism, and the challenges of its implementation for madrasah teachers, Islamic Religious Education (PAI) teachers, and lecturers at Islamic Religious Universities (PTKI). The article is compiled through a study of regulations, policy documents, institutional reports, and literature used in source papers. The discussion shows that the certification policy has a strong juridical foundation, especially Law Number 14 of 2005 concerning Teachers and Lecturers, as well as technical regulations of the Ministry of Religion. The policy targets include madrasah teachers, PAI teachers in public schools, and PTKI lecturers who meet certain requirements. The implementation of madrasah teacher certification is carried out through the administrative stage, Teacher Professional Education (PPG), and competency tests with the support of the SIMPATIKA system, while lecturer certification is carried out through the Lecturer Certification (Serdos) mechanism with the support of the SISTER system. Although the mechanism has been arranged in a regulatory manner, the implementation still faces problems in the form of limited digital infrastructure, inequality of access to training, uneven technical assistance, and suboptimal post-certification evaluation. Therefore, strengthening digital training based on local needs, assistance at the regional level, post-certification evaluation, and policy communication that emphasizes professional development is an important part of strengthening the implementation of certification policies in the Islamic education environment.