Minister of Religion Discloses That Prabowo Has Not Yet Signed Presidential Regulation on Islamic Boarding School Directorate

Jakarta — Minister of Religion Nasaruddin Umar disclosed to members of the parliamentary Commission VIII that President Prabowo Subianto has not yet signed the presidential regulation (perpres) concerning the establishment of a Directorate General (Dirjen) for Islamic Boarding Schools.

Nasaruddin made this statement before members of Commission VIII of the House of Representatives, at Parliament Complex, Jakarta, on Thursday (12 March 2026).

“This received presidential approval for the initiative on 21 October 2025, however to date the presidential regulation has not been signed by the President,” stated the Minister during the Commission VIII meeting on Thursday.

“This involves an amendment to Presidential Regulation Number 152 of 2024 regarding the Organisation and Operations of the Ministry of Religion, which will eliminate the Directorate General for Hajj and Religious Tourism but introduce the Directorate General for Pesantren,” he explained.

Nasaruddin further elaborated that the establishment of the Directorate General for Pesantren aims to strengthen the management of the pesantren ecosystem in a more focused manner.

The focus of the new work unit would encompass educational aspects, strengthening of religious instruction, as well as economic empowerment of Islamic boarding schools.

“This institutional strengthening is expected to improve the quality of pesantren development whilst strengthening their contribution to human resource development and community empowerment,” he said.

“The proposed number of second-tier echelon units takes into account the pesantren ecosystem comprising 341,565 institutions and 12,665,548 students and 2,053,243 teachers,” he added.