Learning Scheme for Santri Affected by Sexual Violence in Pati
The Ministry of Religious Affairs is implementing a learning scheme to ensure the educational rights of dozens of santri affected by sexual violence at Pesantren Ndholo Kusumo in Pati Regency, Central Java, are fulfilled.
The Central Java Provincial Office of the Ministry of Religious Affairs is preparing a learning scheme after the pesantren’s operations were revoked.
The Head of the Early Childhood Education and Boarding School Education Division of the Central Java Ministry of Religious Affairs Regional Office, Moch. Fatkhuronji, stated that the initial steps taken are to ensure protection and support for the affected children, while preparing learning mechanisms so that educational activities do not stop.
“Our first focus is mitigation for the children who are victims. After that, we ensure that the learning process continues because the environment includes a boarding school, school, and madrasah,” said Fatkhuronji in a written statement on Wednesday, 13 May 2026.
Fatkhuronji said the Central Java Ministry of Religious Affairs Regional Office continues to coordinate with the Pati Regency Ministry of Religious Affairs and the Education Office to adjust learning patterns for each education level. Handling is carried out according to the needs of each level, from madrasah ibtidaiyah (MI), junior secondary, to madrasah aliyah (MA).
For MI students in grades 1-5, learning is temporarily conducted online from their respective homes. Meanwhile, grade 6 students continue limited face-to-face learning at the nearest teacher’s home to prepare for final exams.
“Grade 6 children still learn offline because they are entering the exam period,” he said.
Meanwhile, grade 10 MA students have been returned to their respective parents while continuing online learning. A similar scheme is also applied to junior secondary students through coordination with the Education Office.
Fatkhuronji stated that the Ministry of Religious Affairs will not allow the santri to lose their educational rights due to the incident. He assured that child protection must go hand in hand with the continuity of their education.
“No child should lose access to education because of this issue. Teaching and learning activities must continue,” he said.
Currently, there are 48 affected santri in the case, including several orphans who are now receiving special attention from the government. “Orphaned children, whether orphans or those without parents, have been followed up and returned to their closest relatives such as uncles or aunts to ensure they receive support,” said Fatkhuronji.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs has revoked the registered permit of the pesantren involved in the sexual violence case. Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs Romo Muhammad Syafi’i said the evaluation is not only for the perpetrators but also for parties who knew of the alleged deviations but took no action.
“The steps taken by the Ministry of Religious Affairs include revoking the permit (Registered Permit), prohibiting the acceptance of new santri, those considered to know but did nothing have been deactivated, and the perpetrators are being processed legally,” said Romo, quoted from his official statement, 13 May 2026.
Romo emphasised that sexual violence perpetrators must be punished as severely as possible if proven guilty by law. He assessed that such actions not only cause trauma to victims but also damage public trust in pesantren as educational and character-building institutions.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs has revoked the registered permit of Pondok Pesantren Ndolo Kusumo in Tlogosari Village, Tlogowungu Subdistrict, Pati Regency, Central Java, following allegations of sexual violence by the pesantren supervisor against female santri.