The Change Management in Maintaining the Existence of Miftahul Mubtadiin Krempyang Islamic Boarding School, Tanjunganom, Nganjuk, Indonesia

Toha Ma’sum¹, Achmad Patoni², Teguh³

¹²³ Postgraduate at UIN Ali Sayyid Ali Rahmatullah Tulungagung

ABSTRACT: This research focuses on the rapid development of Islamic boarding schools, exploring the case of Miftahul Mubtadiin Krempyang in Nganjuk. The school, over 82 years old with 5000+ students, faces challenges and changes in the current educational landscape. Employing a qualitative case study approach, the study investigates change management strategies and their impacts on the school’s existence. The change process involves thorough preparation, consensus deliberation, and continuous evaluation. Three key change strategies are identified: establishing a parent organisation, adapting organisational forms, and evolving leadership structures. Positive impacts include strengthened internal and external roles, but challenges like increased competition and potential shifts in Islamic values are noted. The study underscores the importance of strategic changes for the continued existence of Islamic boarding schools in the face of evolving educational landscapes.

KEYWORDS: Change Management, Leadership Management, Organizational Change

INTRODUCTION

In the 1990s, Indonesia was considered a country that would become the centre of Islamic glory. Despite having the world’s largest Muslim population, Islamic education in Indonesia did not exhibit satisfactory outcomes. Many Islamic educational institutions, including boarding schools, remained conventional both in physical structure and management. This led to poor graduate quality, making it challenging for them to compete with other school graduates. Although there were instances of quality Islamic education, these cases did not represent the overall state of Islamic boarding schools in Indonesia.

Since the start of the reform era in 1998, significant changes have occurred in public life and education. The National Education System Law (Sisdiknas), enacted in 2003, serves as a guideline for education implementation in Indonesia. Law Number 20 of 2003 defines the national education system as a network of interconnected educational components. Government Regulation Number 04 of 2022 outlines National Education Standards (SNP), covering eight standards, including content, processes, graduate competency, educators, facilities, management, financing, and assessment. Standardising Islamic educational institutions, such as boarding schools, becomes crucial for their future development.

The government has issued various regulations related to Islamic boarding schools, such as Minister of Religion Regulation (PMA) Number 18 of 2014 and Government Regulation (PP) Number 55 of 2007. Recognition of Islamic boarding schools as educational institutions by the government facilitates progress, offering support in terms of graduates, funding, infrastructure, and more.

Adapting to societal rules and developments poses a challenge to the existence of Islamic boarding schools. Those able to adapt thrive, implementing changes in education, organization, leadership, and budget. Educational innovation, integrating new systems, becomes crucial for survival. New Islamic boarding schools with modern management models are emerging, while long-standing ones like Lirboyo Kediri and Tebuireng Jombang continue to develop.

In Nganjuk Regency, 167 active Islamic boarding schools, including Miftahul Mubtadiin Krempyang Tanjunganom, contribute to the educational landscape. Despite not meeting national education standards in facilities and teaching staff qualifications, Miftahul Mubtadiin Krempyang persists and develops. Research analyzes the change management strategies employed to maintain the school’s existence.

LITERATURE REVIEW

In an effort to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of achieving better goals than before, a profit, nonprofit, or volunteer organization will implement managerial activities on existing components. Therefore, in general, an organization will face change, but some remain static without any changes over time (Hakim, 2015).

Arisman (2019) states that change management is an approach to transition individuals, teams, and organizations to a desired future state. The history of change management began in 1960 when Everett Rogers wrote the book “Diffusion of Innovations” in 1962. There would be five editions of the book until 2003, during which statistical analysis was conducted on how people adopt new ideas and technologies.

The goal of change management is to realize a change that benefits the sustainability of the organization’s existence. With change, an organization becomes dynamic in facing challenges from within and outside the organization in line with the development and progress of the times. Indartono (2014) states that if there is no change in an organization, it will become static and lose its competitiveness. This poses a threat to the existence of profit organizations. In other words, for profit organizations that do not change, their lifespan is unlikely to be long, or their benefits will decrease.

A change agent is an essential and familiar term in the process of change. It is an individual or a group that plays a role and is responsible for changing the behavior patterns of individuals or specific social systems. Winardi (2006), in a discussion about change, introduces the concepts of planned change and unplanned change.”

While unplanned changes occur spontaneously or randomly without the involvement of a change agent, such changes can be disruptive. Hence, it is highly plausible that planned changes are crucial. Planned change is a direct response to an individual’s perception of a performance gap, meaning a discrepancy between a desired condition and the actual situation. Through planned change, various organizational targets can be modified, along with the methods to address them.

Organizational change is essentially a transitional process from the present to the future with the expectation of improving effectiveness. Changes in the organizational environment demand adjustments to existing conditions to ensure survival (Winardi, 2006). Forces that facilitate change include competitive forces, economic and political forces, global forces, demographic forces, social forces, and ethical forces.

On the other hand, hindering forces to change include power constraints and conflicts, differences in functional orientation, mechanistic structures, organizational culture, group constraints, group norms, group cohesiveness, groupthink, and escalation of commitment. Individual constraints, uncertainty, insecurity, selective perception, and habit retention are also obstacles to change.

Indartono (2014) argues that planned organizational changes are typically directed towards efforts to improve performance at one of the various levels, namely:

1. Human resource level;
2. Functional resource level;
3. Technological capability level;
4. Organizational capability level.

Several ways to overcome resistance to change involve six recommended tactics to be implemented by change agents when dealing with change. The tactics are as follows (Indartono, 2014):

1. Education and communication;
2. Participation;
3. Facilitation and support;
4. Negotiation;
5. Manipulation and cooptation (cooptation is a form of manipulation and participation);

If we examine the concept of change from an internal, external, or proactive perspective, the reactions of managers to change will naturally be quite extensive. Buchanan and McCalman (1989) argue that this necessitates a specific transition management framework they refer to as ‘perpetual transition management.’ Although this transition management model is specifically related to large-scale organizational change, it can provide valuable insights into what triggers changes within organizations and how organizations react to them.

The model posits that four interrelated management processes must occur to implement and sustain significant organizational changes. These processes operate at different levels and encompass various factors within the organizational hierarchy.

The four layers are as follows:

1. Trigger Layer: This layer is associated with the identification of needs and opportunities for significant change, formulated consciously in the form of opportunities rather than threats or crises.
2. Vision Layer: This layer establishes the future development of the organization by emphasizing a vision and effectively communicating it, indicating the direction in which the organization is heading.
3. Conversion Layer: Formed to mobilize support within the organization for the new vision as the most appropriate method for addressing the triggers of change.
4. Sustainment and Renewal Layer: This layer identifies ways in which changes are maintained and developed through changes in attitudes and behaviors, ensuring that the organization does not revert to previous traditions.

Effective large-scale change requires a series of management actions associated with these four interconnected layers or processes.

RESEARCH METHOD

Pertaining to this study, it falls under the qualitative research approach as the nature of the data to be collected is qualitative in nature. Qualitative research is employed to investigate natural conditions, where the researcher serves as the key instrument, and the emphasis of the results is on meaning rather than generalization (Sugiyono, 2015). Additionally, qualitative research is inductive, meaning the researcher allows problems to emerge from the data or leaves them open to interpretation (Arikunto, 1996).

In this research, the researcher uses Pondok Pesantren Miftahul Mubtadiin Krempyang Tanjunganom, Nganjuk, East Java as the subject, with a focus on change management in the pesantren to sustain its existence. The final result of this case study, as formulated by Creswell (2015), includes first, a description of the case and themes or issues revealed by the researcher during the study; second, organizing themes or issues chronologically, then analyzing the entire case to (a) identify various similarities and differences among the cases; (b) present them in a theoretical model; and (c) conclusions about the overall meaning derived from the case.

RESULT & DISCUSSION

As per the predetermined research focus and the data exploration conducted by the researcher, the obtained research data is as follows:

1. The Process of Change in Sustaining the Existence of Miftahul Mubtadiin Krempyang Tanjunganom Islamic Boarding School, Nganjuk.

In the process of change implemented to sustain its existence, Miftahul Mubtadiin Krempyang Islamic Boarding School goes through stages in accordance with the situations and conditions present during the change. The implementation of change occurs through a non-instantaneous process and through stages that are agreed upon and aligned with the values and traditions in the pesantren.

Generally, the changes implemented at Miftahul Mubtadiin Krempyang Islamic Boarding School occur in three major areas: organizational, leadership, and educational. The process of change in each of these areas, as mentioned in the above presentation, can be understood from the findings of the research data as follows:

1. Organizational Change Process

Miftahul Mubtadiin Krempyang Islamic Boarding School, founded by K.H. Moh. Ghozali, in 1940, has an educational madrasah unit that has grown and developed over time. Initially, the pesantren served not only as an educational institution but also as a parent organization that managed the existing educational units. However, changes in the times and legal regulations required educational providers to have a legal entity.

According to H. Imam Muhtadi, around the 2000s, the idea emerged to form a legally recognized institution that could oversee the existing madrasah. However, at that time, Mbah Kiai Ridlwan, the venerable caretaker, did not give permission and a positive response to the proposal. In 2004, the situation changed when regulations allowed madrasahs to conduct their own exams as long as they had a foundation or institution with legal standing. Therefore, the madrasah management, along with Mbah Kiai Ridlwan and other caretakers, approached him.

At that time, the pesantren consisted of two parts, the boys’ dormitory (pondok putra) and the girls’ dormitory (pondok putri). Mbah Kiai Ridlwan was in charge of the boys’ dormitory, while the late Mbah Kiai Hamam was in charge of the girls’ dormitory. They held a meeting to discuss the organizational changes. Although there was initially no approval from Mbah Kiai Ridlwan, after the new regulations were introduced, he finally invited the madrasah management from both dormitories to hold a joint meeting.

The journey toward organizational change at Miftahul Mubtadiin Islamic Boarding School did not happen immediately as it is now. This process was full of twists and turns and involved carefully executed stages.

1. Leadership Change

The process of leadership change at Miftahul Mubtadiin Krempyang Islamic Boarding School is generally carried out through stages with a simple model and pattern, starting from planning, organizing, implementing to evaluation, and supervision activities. Although simplified, upon closer examination, fundamentally, in modern management theory, all the stages implemented in the change process are an implementation of management function theory.

Leadership changes primarily aim to maintain existence, cultivate leadership successors, and adapt to the developments in both internal and external situations. On the other hand, preserving the teachings and institutions initiated by the founder (muassis) is the main foundation in implementing leadership changes.

The unity and internal solidarity among caretakers, alumni, and dormitory officials are evident in the events organized by the pesantren. Their presence in activities and unity can be observed in the madrasah learning activities held in all dormitory locations without differentiation among the students. For instance, during events like Halal Bihalal, the researcher also sees this unity with their presence in the event..

1. Change in Unit Leadership

Miftahul Mubtadiin Krempyang Islamic Boarding School has undergone changes in leadership not only at the pesantren level but also in its educational units, particularly the positions of the Madrasah or unit heads. The Head of the Madrasah plays a central role in educational and instructional activities, as well as all aspects related to the madrasah or school.

As a Salafiyah Islamic Boarding School, Miftahul Mubtadiin Krempyang has educational units, including madrasah, and other units to complement and meet the needs of students, pupils, teachers, lecturers, and staff. In terms of leadership in educational units, such as the Madrasah, this pesantren has experienced dynamic changes, in line with the developments experienced by other Islamic boarding schools. At the time of the research, changes in leadership had been recorded in the educational units or madrasahs under the auspices of Miftahul Mubtadiin Krempyang Islamic Boarding School.

The changes in leadership in educational units essentially adapt to the development of the situations and conditions at that time, both internal and external. The existence and sustainability of the pesantren and its units are the main goals of the leadership changes that occur.

The fundamental basis and main purpose of changing the leadership of the madrasah unit, in general, are a form of sustaining the Islamic boarding school through changes that occur in the madrasah unit. On the other hand, the purpose of these changes is an effort to expand opportunities for internal and external parties to participate in serving education at Miftahul Mubtadiin Krempyang Islamic Boarding School. In other words, the changes in the leadership of the educational unit are an integral part of efforts to maintain the existence of the pesantren.

2. Strategy for Change in Maintaining the Existence of the Miftahul Mubtadiin Krempyang Tanjunganom Nganjuk Islamic Boarding School

Based on the results of data mining research conducted through interviews, observation, and document analysis, it was generally found in this research that Miftahul Mubtadiin Krempyang Islamic Boarding School has implemented changes in three major areas to maintain its existence. These areas include organizational change, leadership, and education.

These changes are part of stakeholders’ efforts to undertake development and ensure the school’s continued existence amid evolving times and the increasing demands of societal needs.

The change strategies mentioned above can be observed in the presentation of research data findings as follows:

1. Organizational Change

Basically, organizational change is a planned effort conducted at the organizational level to enhance effectiveness and/or enable the organization to achieve its strategic objectives. Organizational change is a necessity for any organization, including Islamic boarding schools. The organizational changes implemented by Miftahul Mubtadiin Krempyang Islamic Boarding School in Tanjunganom Nganjuk have been carried out since the time of its founder, K.H. Moh. Ghozali Manan.

In the early stages, there was no institution or foundation serving as the parent of all existing units, including the Islamic boarding school. The existence of the Islamic boarding school initially, besides being an educational unit, also had the function and position as the parent organization of the existing educational units.

1. Leadership Change

The Kiai plays a central role as a leader at Miftahul Mubtadiin Krempyang Islamic Boarding School, where the tradition recognizes both individual and collective leadership models. Several changes have occurred in the management of the pesantren, evolving from individual management to collective, then dual management, and currently, tripartite management. Since its establishment in 1940, this Islamic boarding school has undergone significant changes in leadership.

Initially, Mbah Kiai Ghozali Manan, the founder of the pesantren, led it individually. After his passing in 1990, leadership was continued by his two sons, Mbah Kiai Ridwan Syaibani and Mbah Kiai Hamam Ghozali. Following the passing of Mbah Kiai Hamam Ghozali in 2017, leadership underwent a significant change. After a period of single leadership until 2019, the leadership structure transformed into three caretakers with independent management under the Al-Ghozali Islamic Foundation. This process of change did not proceed smoothly, and over time, the Islamic boarding school experienced twists and turns, marking its long history.

1. Changes in Education Units

Miftahul Mubtadiin Krempyang Islamic Boarding School, founded by K.H. Moh. Ghozali Manan in 1940, has undergone various changes, especially in the field of education. From its establishment until 1990 under the leadership of K.H. Moh. Ghozali Manan, the pesantren served as the parent organization for all educational institutions, including Darussalam Salafiyah Elementary School and Darussalam Salafiyah Junior High School.

After the passing of K.H. Moh. Ghozali in 1990, Miftahul Mubtadiin Islamic Boarding School experienced rapid development in various forms of education, such as Elementary School (MI), Junior High School (MTs), Senior High School (MA), and higher education, following the curriculum of the Ministry of Religious Affairs. However, the existence of salafiyah-based madrasahs was still maintained.

To develop education, strategic steps were taken in accordance with the established goals. These changes involved various stakeholders, such as the caretakers of the pesantren, madrasah administrators, dzuriyah (religious council), and relevant authorities. Decision-making processes involved collective deliberations, especially after the establishment of the foundation.

The stages of change were implemented collectively, with the aim of preserving unity and achieving the desired goals. Each stage was carefully navigated and decided through collective deliberations. The implementation of changes in educational development followed an agreed-upon sequence, applying management functions in line with the theories of modern experts.

CONCLUSION

                Based on the presentation of research findings, analysis, and discussions as previously explained, the research results on change management in maintaining the existence of Miftahul Mubtadiin Krempyang Islamic Boarding School in Tanjunganom Nganjuk are as follows:

1. The change process at Miftahul Mubtadiin Krempyang Islamic Boarding School is implemented through three main stages. The preparation stage involves assessment, planning, and goal setting. The organization and implementation stage is carried out through consensus discussions involving all relevant parties, including the dzuriyah of the boarding school, unit leaders, alumni, and sympathizers. In the evaluation or supervision stage, the process begins from the early preparation stage to after the change has been implemented. Involving internal and external parties, the evaluation is conducted formally and informally, incidentally, as well as scheduled monthly and annually.
2. The change strategy at Miftahul Mubtadiin Krempyang Islamic Boarding School is focused on three major areas: organization, leadership, and education. The change process is carried out through consensus forums at each stage, from planning, organizing, to implementation. Collaboration occurs between internal boarding school parties, both representatives and the entire community, and external parties such as alumni and sympathizers. In the supervision and evaluation process, internal and external parties, both structural and non-structural, are intensively involved. Evaluation is conducted periodically, incidentally, and scheduled, covering all aspects involved in the change. The consensus forum is the foundation for implementing change strategies involving all stakeholders.
3. The changes at Miftahul Mubtadiin Krempyang Islamic Boarding School encompass three main aspects: organization, leadership, and education. In organizational change, the establishment of a new organization occurs, initially as the Islamic Institution Al-Ghozali, which later becomes the Al-Ghozali Islamic Foundation. Additionally, there is a change in the boarding school’s organizational structure from one to two, then to three boarding schools. Leadership changes involve several phases, ranging from centralization to decentralization of territorial distribution, then returning to a more centralized structure, and ultimately implementing a decentralized system. At the unit madrasah level, there is a change from dual leadership with the boarding school to independent leadership. External stakeholders, such as alumni and sympathizers, are also given the opportunity to lead educational units.
4. In the educational aspect, there is the establishment of new formal education units, the equalization of salafiyah madrasah with formal madrasahs, and the integration of government curriculum with the Islamic boarding school. These changes are carried out through consensus discussions involving both internal and external boarding school parties.

The impact of change management in maintaining the existence of Miftahul Mubtadiin Krempyang Islamic Boarding School in Tanjunganom Nganjuk is as follows:

1. The positive impact involves strengthening the existence and role of the family in managing the boarding school and madrasah through more advanced organizational, leadership, and educational changes. Increased openness to external parties allows participation in managing the boarding school. This relates to the provision of labor, infrastructure, and various other areas by alumni and the community. The existence of a legal entity and a foundation as the parent organization boosts the confidence of unit managers and increases the trust of the community and alumni. The diversity of education types increases the number of students and pupils, opening up broader opportunities for internal and external roles in the boarding school. All of these indicate an improvement in the existence and family involvement in a more modern and organized boarding school management.
2. The negative impact includes competition among madrasah units and boarding schools, requiring a sufficient amount of human resources (HR), careful management, as well as limitations in HR and internal cadres for maximum supervision. Open organizational and leadership changes can lead to the dominance of external thinking and a shift in values. Increased community interest in formal education results in a decline in the quantity and quality of salafiyah education. There is also a risk of change and shift from a salaf-based boarding school to a kholaf-based one due to external thoughts or perspectives.

Suggestions

Suggestions given based on research findings are:

1. Islamic Boarding School Management Organization
   1. Involving all internal and external parties to maintain the existence and develop Islamic boarding schools.
   2. Implement management functions intensively to maintain organizational conduciveness.
   3. Emphasizing the importance of the values of togetherness and unity.
   4. Leaders/Guardians of Islamic Boarding Schools
2. Pay attention to the sustainability of Islamic boarding school values.
3. Strengthening the internal role of Islamic boarding school families to color and maintain Islamic boarding school values.
4. Forming internal cadres with general and modern scientific abilities.
5. Unit Leaders under the auspices of the Islamic Boarding School
   1. Maintain conduciveness with the Islamic boarding school personally, organizationally and in educational activities.
   2. Recognizing the close relationship between Islamic boarding schools and educational units, as well as the importance of the relationship between the two.
   3. Next Researcher
   4. Encourage future researchers to make more contributions related to the development of Islamic boarding schools.
   5. Involving Islamic boarding schools that are larger, older, and have a higher quality of graduates to get more comprehensive findings.

REFERENCES

1. Arikunto, S. (1996). Research Procedures: A Practical Approach. Jakarta: Rineka Cipta.
2. (2019). Change Management. Jakarta: Human Resources Development Agency Law and Human Rights.
3. Barizki, A., Irwansyah, R., Arifudin, O., & Asir, M. (2021). Change Management. Widina Publishers.
4. Creswell, J. W. (2015). Qualitative Research & Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches (A. L. Lazuardi & S. Z. Qudsy, Trans.). Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pelajar.
5. Fithriah, N. (2018). Leadership in Islamic Boarding Schools (A Study of Authority in Salafiyah, Modern, and Combination Islamic Boarding Schools). Al Qalam: Journal of Religious and Social Scientific Research, 13-30.
6. Hakim, A. (2015). Change Management Based on Islamic Values. Semarang: EF Press Digimedia.
7. Harahap, R. R. (2023). Organizational Change Management: The Role of Leadership. Journal of Nusantara Economic Science, 1(2), 58-64.
8. Indartono, S. (2014). Change Management. Yogyakarta: Yogyakarta State University.
9. Sagala, S. (2015). Management and Leadership in Islamic Boarding Schools. Jurnal Tarbiyah, 22(2).
10. (2015). Understanding Qualitative Research. Bandung: Alfabeta.
11. Tampubolon, M. P. (2020). Change Management: Manajemen Perubahan. Mitra Wacana Media.
12. Umam, W. (2020). The Leadership of Kiai in Developing Islamic Boarding Schools. Attractive: Innovative Education Journal, 2(3), 61-69.
13. Widodo, H. (2017). School Culture Change Management. Manageria: Journal of Islamic Educational Management, 2(2), 287-306.
14. Winardi, J. (2006). Change Management. Kencana Prenada Media Group.