Pangkalpinang Mandates All Junior High School Students to Study Quran at Mosques

The Pangkalpinang city government in Bangka Belitung province will mandate junior high school (SMP) students and equivalents to learn to read the Quran at mosques. The policy is issued to prevent and curb juvenile delinquency in the Pangkalpinang area. “Junior high school students and equivalents must be at the mosque to learn Arabic and read the Quran,” said Pangkalpinang Mayor Saparudin, quoted by Antara on Sunday (10/5). He stated that the religious guidance and Quran reading programme for junior high school students and equivalents is focused on mosques throughout Pangkalpinang city, to shape a generation with character, morals, and civility, thereby preventing juvenile delinquency in the area. “These students will learn to recite and Arabic starting after Maghrib until Isha is completed at the mosque, so they can avoid negative things,” he said. According to him, this programme not only shapes students’ character but also serves as an effort by the city government to enliven the mosques in Pangkalpinang city. “Hopefully, this programme will be effectively implemented starting early 2027, so it can reduce children’s outdoor activities that are not beneficial and juvenile delinquency in this area,” he said. He hopes that the Institution for the Development and Development of Quran Kindergarten (LPPTKA) of the DPD of the Indonesian Mosque Youth Communication Agency (BKPRMI) in Pangkalpinang city will support this programme, so that these children can avoid negative influences. “The students who graduated today have not finished learning to read the Quran, and they will continue learning Arabic and reciting before Maghrib until Isha at the mosque,” he said.