The strategy of quality assurance in traditional Islamic boarding schools in Yogyakarta

Traditional Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) differ from formal schools in leadership, organisational culture, and pedagogy, yet national quality assurance systems largely focus on formal schooling. Following the formal recognition of pesantren under Law No. 18 of 2019, how traditional pesantren assure educational quality on their own terms has become a pressing question. This study analyses the quality-assurance strategies of two traditional pesantren in the Special Region of Yogyakarta: Al-Munawwir Krapyak (Bantul) and GIPA Rohmatul Qur'an (Kulon Progo). The study employed a qualitative multiple-case study design. The study collected data through in-depth interviews, participant observation, and document analysis involving kiai, administrators, teachers (ustadz), the council of elders (masyayikh), and students, and analysed them using Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña's interactive model, followed by cross-case analysis. Quality assurance in both pesantren operates through four strategies: (1) quality planning centred on the kiai's leadership; (2) quality implementation through learning traditions, exemplary conduct and character formation; (3) quality control through direct evaluation and culturally embedded social oversight; and (4) institutional sustainability through leadership succession and the preservation of tradition. Quality is defined holistically, encompassing character, mastery of Islamic studies, discipline and readiness for community leadership alongside academic attainment. The study conceptualises quality assurance in traditional pesantren as culturally embedded and sustainability-oriented, and argues that national quality assurance policy should accommodate this model rather than impose formal-school instruments.