Minister of Religion Reveals Directorate General of Islamic Boarding Schools Awaiting Prabowo's Signature
Minister of Religion Nasaruddin Umar stated that the establishment of the Directorate General of Islamic Boarding Schools remains pending approval of a presidential regulation (Perpres). According to Nasaruddin, the regulation is currently awaiting President Prabowo Subianto’s signature.
“The amendment to Presidential Regulation Number 152 of 2024 concerning the Ministry of Religion, which eliminates the Directorate General of Hajj and Umrah but establishes the Directorate General of Pesantren, received presidential approval on 21 October 2025,” Nasaruddin stated during a parliamentary working session with Commission VIII of the House of Representatives at parliament complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Thursday (12 March 2026).
“However, the presidential regulation has not yet been signed by the President,” he added.
Nasaruddin explained that the organisational restructuring at the Ministry of Religion was undertaken following the transfer of hajj and umrah administration to the newly established Ministry of Hajj and Umrah. He noted that with this change, the Ministry of Religion no longer maintains the Directorate General for the Implementation of Hajj and Umrah.
Consequently, the Ministry of Religion has proposed the establishment of a Directorate General of Islamic Boarding Schools, which aligns with the mandate of Law Number 18 of 2019 concerning Islamic Boarding Schools.
“Which mandates three functions of pesantren—education, religious outreach, and community empowerment—thus establishing the Directorate General of Pesantren,” he explained.
He noted that pesantren matters within the Ministry of Religion have been handled by the Directorate of Islamic Religious Education and Islamic Boarding Schools, which operates under the Directorate General of Islamic Education. The establishment of the Directorate General of Pesantren aims to strengthen the management of the pesantren ecosystem.
“To strengthen organisation and governance at the Ministry of Religion and to address organisational dynamics, institutional transformation at the Ministry of Religion is necessary, including the establishment of the Directorate General of Pesantren,” he stated.
“The establishment of the Directorate General of Pesantren is intended to strengthen the management of the pesantren ecosystem in a more focused manner, encompassing educational aspects, strengthening of religious education, and economic empowerment of pesantren,” he continued.
He expressed hope that the institutional strengthening would improve the quality of pesantren supervision and strengthen contributions to human resource development.
“To complement the structure of the Directorate General of Pesantren, it is proposed that there be 6 echelon II units, comprising the Secretariat of the Directorate General and 5 Technical Directorates. The proposed number of echelon II units takes into account the pesantren ecosystem, which comprises 341,565 institutions, 12,665,548 students, and 2,023,243 teachers,” he concluded.