Presidential Regulation on Pesantren Directorate Issued, HNW Optimistic It Will Benefit Students

Deputy Chairman of the MPR RI and Member of DPR RI Commission VIII, Hidayat Nur Wahid (HNW), has appreciated the issuance of Presidential Regulation No. 18 of 2026 on Amendments to Presidential Regulation No. 152 of 2024 concerning the Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag). He views the regulation as an important step, as it officially establishes the Directorate General of Pesantren as part of Kemenag’s structure. HNW stated that the issuance of this Perpres has been eagerly awaited by the pesantren community and has been continuously advocated in Commission VIII to strengthen pesantren institutions as one of the important pillars of religious education in Indonesia. “We in Commission VIII have been pushing for the establishment of the Directorate General of Pesantren since the beginning through various working meetings with the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the Ministry of PANRB, the Ministry of Finance, and other related state institutions. Especially when Kemenag no longer handles hajj, there is strong momentum to immediately realise the Directorate General of Pesantren. Alhamdulillah, it has now been realised through the Perpres, of course this must be massively socialised and followed up with concrete programmes that provide solutions and deliver real benefits to pesantren,” said HNW in his statement on Sunday (26/4/2026). He said this after leading the Meeting of the Modern Darusalam Gontor Pesantren Endowment Board, Ponorogo (24/4). As stipulated in the Perpres, the Directorate General of Pesantren has the mandate to formulate and implement policies in the fields of education, dakwah, and community empowerment in pesantren. According to HNW, this mandate must be carried out optimally to truly meet the rapidly growing needs of pesantren. HNW, who is the Chairman of the Modern Darussalam Gontor Pesantren Endowment Board, reminded that the pesantren ecosystem in Indonesia is vast, encompassing at least 42,369 pesantren with more than 12.6 million students and 2 million ustadz/kyai. He also emphasised the importance of optimising the Pesantren Endowment Fund and separating it from the Education Endowment Fund, as has been an aspiration advocated by DPR RI Commission VIII. According to him, this step is crucial to ensure the state’s commitment to pesantren becomes more tangible and just. In addition, HNW also reiterated his push for various affirmative policies for pesantren, including easing the construction of facilities and infrastructure, as well as supportive regulations that are not burdensome, such as exemptions from land and building taxes, so that pesantren can develop without being hindered by administrative or fiscal issues. “The presence of the Directorate General of Pesantren should not add bureaucratic burdens or even limit the room for manoeuvre for pesantren. On the contrary, it must become a state instrument that facilitates, empowers, and strengthens pesantren in accordance with the mandate of Law No. 18 of 2019 on Pesantren,” he continued. Furthermore, this PKS Faction DPR RI member emphasised that the existence of the Directorate General of Pesantren must also be able to reach all pesantren functions as regulated in the Law, namely education, dakwah, and community empowerment, as well as accommodate the various types of pesantren in Indonesia. “Alhamdulillah, the Perpres on the Directorate General of Pesantren has been issued. What is more important next is its implementation. The officials appointed to fill the directorate general must understand or even come from the pesantren environment, so they have a sense of belonging to the pesantren world, which with that can optimise the tasks and functions of the Directorate General of Pesantren for the welfare of all pesantren in Indonesia,” HNW concluded.