Central Java Has 5,400 Islamic Boarding Schools as Ahmad Luthfi Strengthens Support for Students
“National Santri Day is an occasion to remember and honour the jihad resolution in the struggle against the colonialists, led at the time by Hadratus Syeikh Hasyim Asy’ari and the santri,” Luthfi said in a statement on Thursday (22 October 2026).
Ahmad Luthfi made the remarks while attending Central Java in Prayer, an event held on Wednesday (21 October) on Jalan Pancasila in Tegal city to mark the 2026 provincial-level National Santri Day.
Luthfi was accompanied by Central Java Deputy Governor Taj Yasin Maimoen. Also present were members of the Central Java Regional Leadership Coordination Forum (Forkopimda), Tegal Mayor Dedy Yon Supriyono, Deputy Mayor Iin Tazkiyatul Muthmainnah and a number of regents and mayors from across Central Java.
The event was also attended by religious scholars Muhammad Yusuf Chudlori (Gus Yusuf), Muhammad Abdurrahman Al-Kautsar (Gus Kautsar) and Habib Bidin, who delivered religious talks and led prayers and salawat.
Luthfi praised the contribution of santri in Central Java. The province has at least 5,400 Islamic boarding schools, or pesantren, with 555,000 students. He said this was social capital that needed to be strengthened so that pesantren could serve not only as centres of religious education, but also produce a generation able to contribute across a range of fields.
As a form of support, the Central Java Provincial Government has launched the Pesantren Obah programme. Through the programme, it also provides scholarships for santri and pesantren caretakers.
In 2026, Rp6.8 billion has been allocated for education in Indonesia and overseas. The programme attracted 942 applicants, of whom 15 santri were selected to continue their studies in Egypt, Yemen and China.
Several days earlier, 424 santri studying at Ma’had Aly also received scholarships. Scholarships were also awarded to student organisers who are active in campus organisations, both internal and external, while continuing to live at a pesantren.
In addition to scholarships, the Central Java Provincial Government is continuing incentives for religious teachers, grants for santri who have memorised the Qur’an, and grants and renovation assistance for pesantren and mosques.
In 2025, incentives for religious teachers were paid to 230,830 recipients. Each received Rp1.2 million per year, with a total budget of around Rp277 billion. The programme is continuing in 2026.
At the same event, Muhammad Yusuf Chudlori, head of the Islamic Education College dormitory at Salaf Tegalrejo Islamic Boarding School in Magelang Regency, briefly recounted the role of santri, kiai and ulama in the Jihad Resolution to defend Indonesia’s independence. The event was one of the foundations for the establishment of National Santri Day.
He said santri and ulama had two principal duties: safeguarding the nation and protecting the community.
The figure known as Gus Yusuf also referred to forest and land fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra, as well as a fire on Mount Sumbing. He called on people in Central Java to pray together for the disasters across Indonesia to end soon.
“We pray for our brothers and sisters in Kalimantan and Sumatra. We also ask the government, in its duty to safeguard the nation, to arrest and bring to justice those greedy people who set fire to forests and land, for the sake of Indonesia’s progress. Santri also have a duty to safeguard the nation and protect the community,” he said.
On the responsibility to protect the community, Gus Yusuf said kiai and ulama played a role through knowledge and education. He also thanked the Central Java Provincial Government for its attention to the province’s 5,400 pesantren, including their students and Qur’an teachers.
“I ask that this support be increased, because pesantren still need more attention and recognition. If you want to protect santri, do not do it halfway. The government should be grateful to village kiai, teachers at madrasah diniyah and madrasah, and schoolteachers, because they are the ones protecting the community from moral decline,” he said.