JAKARTA ~ The Australian ambassador to Indonesia opened 46 Islamic schools built with Australian funding at a ceremony in East Java on Wednesday, an embassy spokesman said.

Ambassador Bill Farmer attended the event with Minister of Religious Affairs Muhammad M. Basyuni at Lumajang in East Java, a traditional Islamic stronghold.

The funding for the religious schools, known as madrassahs, is part of a US$25-million package from the Australian government for education facilities in 20 Indonesian provinces. According to Farmer, 2000 schools will be built by 2009.

“Of those 2000 schools, 500 will be madrassahs, which demonstrates clearly the importance of Islamic schools to the Indonesian education system, and Australia’s understanding of their role in educating Indonesia’s children,” he said in a statement received by The Bali Times.

The project will create more than 330,000 new school places for 13- to 15-year-olds, according to officials, with development focused on poor and remote areas.