Presidential Regulation on Directorate General of Pesantren Said to Have Been Signed by Prabowo, Set to Be Promulgated Soon

JAKARTA – The Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Muhammad Syafii, has confirmed that the Presidential Regulation (Perpres) regarding the establishment of the Directorate General (Ditjen) of Pesantren has already been signed and will soon be promulgated.

“The Perpres on the Directorate General of Pesantren has been signed. It is currently in the review stage at the General Secretariat for prompt promulgation in the State Gazette,” Syafii stated in a press release on Friday (3/4/2026).

Syafii explained that the signing of this Perpres represents the state’s commitment to bolstering the strategic role of pesantren, given the large number of students they accommodate.

In the organisational blueprint currently being refined, the Ditjen Pesantren is projected to have five strategic directorates.

These include the Directorate of Muadalah Education, Formal Diniyah, and Study of Yellow Books; the Directorate of Ma’had Aly Education; the Directorate of Diniyah Takmiliyah Education and Al Quran Education; the Directorate of Pesantren Empowerment; and the Directorate of Pesantren Dakwah Development.

Each directorate and sub-directorate established has strong rationale and complements one another.

In addition to the structure, the Deputy Minister is also paying special attention to the human resources (HR) aspect that will fill positions in this new unit.

“For curriculum and dormitory upbringing matters, they must be filled by people who truly understand the ‘spirit’ of pesantren. Meanwhile, for fields like empowerment, we can involve competent experts in their respective domains,” he said.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs is optimistic that the presence of the Ditjen Pesantren will be able to produce generations that are not only intellectually superior but also possess a solid spiritual depth.