Pondok education in Seberang Perai: its evolution and uniqueness

This essay focuses on the historical development and uniqueness of the pondok educational system in the northern region of peninsula Malaysia especially Seberang Perai. Unlike the more modern secular education, the pondok system does not guarantee employment for its graduates. Yet in the past it managed to gain much support from the local community and it became the preferred choice of the locals to educate their children. Despite its inaccessibility into the location, problems of transportation and the provision of very basic amenities, the pondok still managed to attract many students from the northern region, other parts of Malaya (later Malaysia) and outside the country. Some of the contributory factors identified for these phenomena were the strong local interest in religious knowledge, nationalism and the social standing of pondok teachers or Tok Guru within the local community as manifested in the writing of religious treatises which were either printed in Penang or Seberang Perai. This essay discusses the evolution of the pondok amidst a difficult environment and to explain how they managed to hold on until the present day. Attention is also directed towards the publication of religious treatises and their marketing in the Seberang Perai area and the connection of the publishing houses with local pondoks