MPR Leader: Establishment of Pesantren Directorate General Must Advance Pesantren
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Hidayat Nur Wahid (HNW), Deputy Chairman of the MPR RI and Member of the DPR RI’s Commission VIII, has expressed appreciation for the progress in establishing the Directorate General of Pesantren through the signing of the Presidential Regulation (Perpres) on the formation of the Directorate General (Ditjen) of Pesantren by the President.
HNW, as he is commonly known, stated that this policy represents a strategic step that has long been advocated in the DPR, particularly by Commission VIII, as part of strengthening and advancing pesantren institutions in Indonesia.
“Alhamdulillah, the signing of this Perpres is a forward step that deserves appreciation,” Hidayat said in his statement in Jakarta on Tuesday.
According to him, in the context of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the establishment of the Directorate General of Pesantren is very important for institutional transformation as well as improving the quality of religious education, particularly in pesantren, especially after the Ministry of Religious Affairs no longer handles hajj affairs.
“Therefore, the establishment of the Directorate General of Pesantren must truly become a solution in strengthening governance, services, and policy favouritism towards pesantren, rather than adding new problems such as bureaucratic bloat or inefficiency, as per the aspirations I received from pesantren observers,” Hidayat said.
He added that in the Working Meeting of Commission VIII of the DPR RI on 12 March 2026, an agreement was reached on a proposal urging the Minister of PANRB and the Minister of Religious Affairs to prepare the organisational structure of the Directorate General of Pesantren.
Meanwhile, in the previous Working Meeting on 28 January 2026, Commission VIII also pressed for the acceleration of the establishment of the Directorate General of Pesantren as well as the strengthening of policies and budgets for religious education.
Nevertheless, Hidayat reminded that the establishment of the Directorate General of Pesantren must truly provide concrete solutions to the needs of pesantren and address various inputs/criticisms from the public.
“If there are criticisms/concerns regarding the addition of structures, human resources, or budgets, these must be addressed professionally. Because the establishment of the Directorate General of Pesantren is precisely to provide solutions, not to add new problems such as inefficiency or excessive bureaucracy,” he stressed.
According to him, to date, the portion of benefits received by pesantren has not been commensurate with the significant positive contributions of pesantren in the history of the nation’s struggle and the national education system.
“The Directorate General of Pesantren must be able to ensure that the Pesantren Endowment Fund is managed independently, separately from the Education Endowment Fund, and provides greater benefits for advancing education in pesantren, including through increased returns for pesantren. Currently, only around Rp 500 billion is allocated for pesantren, from the total development results of the education endowment fund which in 2025 has reached more than Rp 11 trillion,” said HNW.
In addition, Hidayat, who is also Chairman of the Wakaf Board of Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontor, reminded that the pesantren ecosystem to be managed is vast and complex.
Based on data from the Ministry of Religious Affairs, there are 42,369 pesantren, 104,204 madrasah diniyah takmiliyah, 194,901 Al-Qur’an educational institutions, and 91 Ma’had Aly, with a total of 341,565 institutions. Additionally, there are 12,665,584 santri and 2,053,243 ustadz in that ecosystem.
With such a large scale, he emphasised that the Directorate General of Pesantren must be able to reach all types and functions of pesantren as mandated in Law No. 18 of 2019 on Pesantren, namely educational, da’wah, and community empowerment functions.
“The Directorate General of Pesantren must also be fair in paying attention to the diversity of pesantren types recognised by the Pesantren Law, whether those conducting education based on classical texts, dirasah Islamiyah with a muallimin pattern, or those integrated with general education,” he said.
Furthermore, he encouraged affirmative policies, such as tax exemptions for pesantren both for their construction and the land they manage, as a form of real state support for religious educational institutions that have positively contributed to the nation even before Indonesia’s independence.
Hidayat also reminded that the presence of the Directorate General of Pesantren should not stifle the independence of pesantren or limit the flexibility that has long been the main strength of pesantren in educating the ummah.
“Pesantren have a distinctive character of independence and flexibility. Therefore, the presence of the Directorate General of Pesantren must strengthen, not limit, the room for manoeuvre of pesantren,” he continued.
He hopes that following the signing of this Perpres, the Ministry of PANRB and the Ministry of Religious Affairs will promptly follow up with the preparation of the organisational structure, strengthening of budgets, and programmes that truly address the real needs of pesantren.
“May the Directorate General of Pesantren truly become a state instrument to strengthen pesantren, bring policy justice, and support the strategic role of pesantren in enlightening the nation’s life and safeguarding the morality of the young generation towards Golden Indonesia 2045,” said HNW.