SASANA Business Administration Vocational College
: A Sacred Mission To Create Upper-Hand Umma
The First Prototype Religion Integrated College in Thailand
………………………………………………….
Alami news : Let’s look at point of view of “ professor Montri Maleephant” the director of School of Business Administration, in term of the future educational system as well as vision of his college.
Professor Montri went back to his previous life before being a professor at School of Business administration by saying that it began with the religious schools and Arabic language and he believed that “ Satri Sasana Wittaya School ” in 1985 by professor Saman Maleephant (my father). At that period, it was provided for was founded religious teaching school as well as Arabic language. It was about 22 years starting from 1985 until 2007 that this college taught students and sent them to study abroad.
“ Social conditions have changed even though the government has a policy of promoting integrated education; the religious school which teaches only religious has some impact. Because of that reason, it is necessary to modify the school by providing religious school and teaching general subjects at the same time. So, with the common vision of perfessor Saman Maleephant, the administrator of school at the time consulted with experts in the Ministry of Education in order to build the religious college together with general subjects. “
Since the year 2007, he adjusted the courses from a religious school to be theological school of Business by using the system and offered the certificate (Vocational certificate) in Accounting, Marketing, and Computer in business. It is also offered a Diploma (Bachelor) in accounting, marketing, and computer in business. This college teaches both religious and general subjects and it is added Arabic language as a compulsory course for the third language.
For Islamic course, Quranic Studies, Islamic Theology , Islamic Jurisprudence, Traditions of the messenger and Islamic History ; it will teach five subjects including word of prophet, Islamic history, religious act, Unity, and Quran. It is taught concurrently in all day. Most of teachers are graduated from abroad, and students who complete their study will get a certificate both for Islamic and for current career.
professor Montri stated proudly that this school is the first Islamic school which integrated with general subjects, and professor Somsak (Munir) Muhammad is the head master in school by the time of creating courses because it is a new system. Most importantly, it is the first religious school that integrated with general subject in Thailand.
“ for Arabic language that was taught in school, we strictly stress of teaching system because we want students can communicate with each other for the business term” professor Montri said that student who graduated from this school can survive and have a career as the school has set, and they have religion to guide them how to survive on this world. Religion can guide them to be a safer person, and this is the vision of professor Saman Maleephant.
After another 5 years, around 2012, we enhanced the level of school to be as a college of religious administration” as the institute of occupational integration of Islam. Currently, it is 8 years which give us to have more experience and learn to develop the institution with none stopping.
“ 8 years ago was the year of leaning the world because in that period we had different ambition. When faced with the reality and we learned from students, we got a lot of things. So, it forced to change the process of thinking all the time which is very difficult to mention by words. However, I believe that it is not easy to find in general schools”
Currently, this college has 700 students attending school and has 45 teachers, and it is ready to open the new branches which are logistics and graphic designs. It is hoping that it will open in two years before the 10th anniversary of this college.
However, in the long term, the goal of perfessor Saman Maleephant as the founder of this college, he wants to expand education from college to be a university. We already have plan, but we do not know yet when it is the best time to start.
professor Montri looks at the future of AEC in term of education by saying that we can see it various parts, with the emergence of AEC, we need to adjust our point of view. From now on, boundaries begin to loosen including rules. AEC will come to be some tools and mechanisms. What we need to adjust is our thinking and concepts.
Education may be a part of its change and it will help that point. We have study and learn to accept the AEC, and we must accept different cultures particularly the language, such as Bahasa, Islamic culture. We have to accept that as part of ASEAN.
“ We cannot control this because half of the populations are Malayu and they use Bahasa language. Moreover, Halal food will not be surprise anymore. Half of Asian people will consume it. So, we have to adjust our thinking, and we should reduce a conflict because we are not alone, but we have friend as our neighbors over 600 million people because we are ASEAN.
