House Commission VIII Approves Rp4.5 Trillion Budget for Pesantren Funding
The House of Representatives’ (DPR) Commission VIII has approved a budget allocation of Rp4.5 trillion for 2027 to fund the development and empowerment of pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) across Indonesia through the Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag).
“There will be a new directorate (in Kemenag), namely the Directorate of Pondok Pesantren (Pontren), for which we have budgeted around Rp4.5 trillion for 2027,” said Commission VIII Deputy Chairman Ansory Siregar in Banda Aceh on Wednesday. He made the statement following a specific working meeting with the Aceh Kemenag Regional Office and district/city offices regarding educational personnel at the Aceh Governor’s Office multipurpose hall in Banda Aceh.
He explained that the budget is intended to support pesantren across the entire country, particularly in regions with a high concentration of such Islamic educational institutions, such as Aceh and East Java. Currently, out of approximately 1,900 pesantren in Aceh, only 87 receive operational funding, with amounts ranging from Rp7 million to Rp10 million per year.
With the establishment of the Pontren Directorate General, it is hoped that all pesantren will receive operational funding, and at levels significantly higher than before. “Because pesantren and madrasahs were the first educational institutions in Indonesia dating back to the colonial era. Therefore, we must assist and urge the government to take supporting pesantren seriously,” Ansory stated.
Basnang Said, Director of Diniyah and Pesantren Education at Kemenag, said the allocated budget will be used to support the operational needs of education in pesantren. “Of course, the allocation will be for the benefit of BOP (Educational Operational Assistance) for pesantren and madrasahs, as well as for the welfare of the teachers,” he said.
Beyond operational costs, he noted that the budget will not only be for educational operational assistance but also for the development of Ma’had Aly (university-level campuses within pesantren), as well as the construction of sanitation facilities and dormitories. “We are trying to secure a budget to renovate pesantren dormitories and establish Ma’had Aly, which are actually equivalent to IAIN or UIN higher education institutions. However, there has been no construction assistance for them yet. Therefore, with the Rp4.5 trillion budget for 2027, God willing, 95 Ma’had Aly can be built, including six in Aceh,” Basnang Said concluded.