The participants of the Muhammadiyah Scholarship Preparation Program (MSPP) Batch V from the Muhammadiyah Council for Higher Education Research and Development (Diktilitbang) were invited to have a city tour in Solo. One of the destinations was Kotabarat Middle School (Special Program), Sunday, (08/01). It is a series of MSPP activities after they did the UMS Campus Tour last month. The activity began with the participants departing from the KH Mas Mansur International Student Islamic Boarding School (Pesma) UMS where the participants were staying during the MSPP activity heading to the first Car Free Day (CFD) location which is located on the Jalan Slamet Riyadi section.
The participants then moved to one of the educational Muhammadiyah Services (AUM), Kotabarat Middle School (Special Program). The Head of Sub-department for Pesma Cadres KH Mas Mansur UMS, Dodi Afianto, M.Pd.I., mentioned the objectives for visiting the school. “Previously, we would like to thank Kotabarat Middle School for providing the opportunity to MSPP participants to visit this school. We hope that this activity will be able to provide an overview regarding the strategy for developing schools in their respective regions because the participants come from various regions in Indonesia,” said Dodi Alfianto.
MSPP Batch V Coordinator, Phisca Aditya conveyed that the other purpose was to build good relationships, then continued with a discussion about the programs and excellences of Kotabarat School. “We aim to demonstrate a role model of schools in Surakarta, as an encouragement for all of us when going back to our respective regions,” said Phisca.
On this occasion, the Principal of the Kotabarat Middle School, Muhdiyatmoko, M.Pd., conveyed the development of Muhammadiyah educational institutions in Kotabarat from the pioneering to the developing process until now. “Kotabarat education institutions have Special Programs from Kindergarten, Elementary, Middle School, to High School. The first establishment was the Muhammadiyah Elementary School for the Special Program in 2000, which was then followed by the Middle School, High School and Kindergarten,” said the Principal.
According to him, Muhammadiyah’s education is in great demand by the public because of the achievements and quality of education. The different qualities should be elevated by Muhammadiyah education institutions as a holistic system of education. “Especially in managing finances, we manage it dynamically, so that kindergarten to high school support each other when we need facilities and infrastructure to support the learning process,” he said. He also mentioned that in order to succeed in managing a special program school, all parties should be solid. In addition, it has to be remembered that education serves noble values, so the service should be prioritized. After visiting Kotabarat School, they continued to visit the Sheikh Zayed Solo Mosque and had lunch together.
