Ministry of Religious Affairs allocates Rp6.6 billion to restore nine private Islamic universities in Aceh
The Ministry of Religious Affairs has distributed Rp6.6 billion in aid for learning infrastructure and facilities to restore educational facilities at nine private Islamic higher education institutions (PTKIS) affected by disasters in Aceh.
The total assistance, distributed through the Directorate General of Islamic Education (Ditjen Pendis), amounts to Rp6.6 billion. The aid is directed towards accelerating the recovery of facilities while ensuring that academic activities on the affected campuses can resume.
“This assistance is a form of the Ministry of Religious Affairs’ support in helping the recovery process of universities affected by disasters. We want to ensure that the aid provided can be utilised according to its intended purpose and provides benefits for the sustainability of educational services,” said the Secretary of the Directorate General of Islamic Education, M. Arskal Salim, in a statement in Jakarta on Tuesday.
According to Arskal, recovering PTKIS affected by disasters requires more than just repairing physical damage. The Ministry is also encouraging the restoration of the academic ecosystem so that the learning process can return to an optimal level.
“What we want to restore is not just the infrastructure, but also the academic ecosystem. Students must be able to return to learning safely and comfortably, while lecturers and educational staff can perform their duties optimally,” he said.
In addition to infrastructure aid, the Ministry is providing other forms of support for the affected academic community. This includes tuition fee (UKT) reductions for students, as well as assistance for lecturers and educational staff in accordance with established recovery policies.
Monitoring of the recovery process is also being conducted at the Ummul Ayman Islamic Institute (IAI) in Pidie Jaya. Arskalu appreciated the rapid response of the universities in undertaking repairs following the disaster.
“This assistance is part of an acceleration effort to ensure that educational activities can return to running smoothly,” he added.
Arskal invited the entire academic community to use this recovery period as a momentum to implement improvements and enhance the quality of educational services.
Based on the Decree of the Director General of Islamic Education Number 6900 of 2026 regarding the Determination of Recipients of Learning Infrastructure and Facilities Aid for Disaster-Affected Areas in Aceh Private Islamic Higher Education Institutions for the 2026 Fiscal Year, the aid is granted to nine PTKIS with a total of Rp6.6 billion.
The focus on PTKIS in Aceh is intentional. Based on disaster impact data, no PTKIS in North Sumatra or West Sumatra were found to be affected or in need of similar infrastructure recovery assistance.
Therefore, the Ministry of Religious Affairs’ support is directed towards the affected PTKIS in Aceh, with the amount of aid adjusted to the specific recovery needs of each institution.
The recipients of the aid include STAI Aceh Tamiang, IAI Ummul Ayman Pidie Jaya, STIS Dayah Amal Aceh Timur, Universitas Islam Aceh, Universitas Islam Al-Aziziyah Indonesia, STAI Nurul Arafah Panton Labu, STIT Syamsuddhuha Aceh Utara, STAI Jamiatut Tarbiyah Lhoksukon Aceh Utara, and STIT Syekh Saman Al-Hasan Gayo Lues.