Reasons Behind Delayed Professional Allowance Payments for Madrasah Teachers, Ministry of Religious Affairs Claims No Obstacles

JAKARTA – A letter circulating on social media has stated that professional allowances for madrasah teachers for the January and February 2026 period cannot be disbursed until funds become available.

The letter was addressed to all regional office heads of the Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag) across provinces, as well as heads of madrasah education and Islamic education divisions, and was issued on 25 February 2026.

Professional allowances for teachers remain undisbursed specifically for teachers and madrasah heads who graduated from Teacher Professional Education (PPG) programmes in 2025.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs has responded to the circulating letter. The Director General of Islamic Education at Kemenag, Amien Suyitno, explained that the Additional Budget Allocation (ABT) requires prior review by the Ministry of Finance (Kemenkeu).

According to regulations, budget for teacher allowances cannot be requested whilst Teacher Professional Education programmes are still ongoing.

“It is merely a procedural matter. During that time, the PPG learning process was still underway, and according to regulations, budgeting could not proceed during the learning period; we had to wait for graduation announcements,” Suyitno explained when met at the Kemenag office in Central Jakarta on Thursday (26 February 2025).

“During this process, the Inspector General then reviewed it and it is now being processed. This is how it works – the PPG programme ended in late 2025, so it was impossible for us to submit the budget at year-end,” Suyitno said.

Suyitno claimed that the process of disbursing professional allowances for madrasah teachers actually faces no budget obstacles.

“There are no obstacles. Everything follows the proper procedural stages. Because this is how the procedure works, all submissions are reviewed first, in accordance with the procedures,” Suyitno stated.

“Every budget is submitted in the preceding year, so this is what must be understood. We must educate the public about this. This means that according to the regulations, the PPG programme is in the preceding year, and allowances are paid in the following year,” Suyitno said.