| Rokiah Mahmud |
IT WAS a moment to remember for 261 graduates of Religious Teachers University College of Seri Begawan (KUPU SB) yesterday as they celebrated their academic success and received their degrees and diplomas from His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, and the Chancellor of KUPU SB, during the university’s 7th Convocation Ceremony held at the International Convention Centre (ICC), Berakas.
Upon arrival, His Majesty was greeted by Minister of Religious Affairs, Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang Badaruddin bin Pengarah Dato Paduka Haji Awang Othman, in his capacity as Chairman of the KUPU SB Council; State Mufti, Pehin Datu Seri Maharaja Dato Paduka Seri Setia (Dr) Ustaz Haji Awang Abdul Aziz bin Juned; Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs, Dato Seri Paduka Awang Haji Abdul Mokti bin Haji Mohd Daud, in his capacity as Deputy Chairman of the KUPU SB Council; Chief Syar’ie Judge, Pehin Orang Kaya Paduka Seri Utama Dato Paduka Seri Setia Uztaz Haji Awang Salim bin Haji Besar; and Acting Ra’es of KUPU SB, Dr Haji Adanan bin Haji Basar.
The convocation ceremony commenced with a recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah led by the State Mufti, followed by a recitation of verses from Surah An-Nuur by Mohammad Zul-Hafiz bin Haji Tengah and graduates of the college’s Postgraduate Diploma in Religious Teaching.
KUPU SB Acting Ra’es Dr Haji Adanan in his welcoming address explained that the university has strived to meet its vision and objectives of being the best religious teaching university in the Malay world, and for KUPU SB to continue building trust from other international higher learning institutions.
Dr Haji Adanan also underlined the steps taken to reassess all their course performances by integrating and updating course content, teaching methods and evaluation assessment. These enable the college to more effectively assess their courses based on eight competency criteria, which include indicators such as Malay Islamic Monarchy (MIB) content, moral and leadership values, as well as quality of Taqwa.
He added that during the Asia-Pacific University Community Engagement Network (APUCEN) held last September at Kyoto University for Foreign Studies in Japan, KUPU SB was reappointed as a member country for the APUCEN Consul Council.
The university was also appointed as the host country for the next University Community Engagement Conference in 2019.
This year, KUPU SB has received several invitations and visits from foreign higher learning institutions, with most of them expressing interest in establishing friendly relations and collaborating with the university in selected fields of study.
Dr Haji Adanan said the Fiqh Al-Usrah Centre has been set up and has already set in place its own roles and functions, which among others, include organising forums, roadshows, international seminars, and so on.
“At the same time, KUPU SB through its Language Centre has taken steps in organising Lugathul Mu’allim workshops for Arabic school teachers, offering Bachelor’s degree programmes in Religious Teaching (teaching Arabic to non-Arabic speakers), as well as organising regional and international Arabic Language seminars,” Dr Haji Adanan said.
His Majesty then proceeded to deliver his titah, before handing over degree and diploma certificates to the graduates.
Of the 261 graduates, 18 received Master’s degrees in Religious Teaching, 38 received postgraduate diplomas in Religious Teaching, 103 received Bachelor’s degrees in Religious Teaching, and 102 received higher diplomas in Religious Teaching.
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