The Jakarta Globe reports [jakartaglobe.id]
Bogor Institute of Agriculture, or IPB--one of [Indonesia's] best universities in 2016, is offering a new program which will give an advantage to reciters of the Holy Koran in its 2017/2018 entrance test, its official said on Tuesday (04/04).
Yonny Koesmaryono, IPB's deputy rector for academic and student affairs, said the special entrance scheme for Koran reciters will be made part of its International and National Achievement Selection Program, or PIN.
According to the new rule, students who can recite 30 chapters of the Koran will be rewarded with additional entrance points equal to those awarded to winners of international-level science competition.
Students who can recite 15 chapters will get additional points equal to a victory at a national-level science competition, according to Yonny.
Indonesia is the world's fourth most populous country (after China, India, and the USA). It is majority-Islamic.
This notion reminds me of a description of horrible thinking [google.com] made by physicist Wolfgang Pauli. Can you think of an example of religiously-based preferences for Science slots where you are? How about for rote memorization?