Nasaruddin Umar Highlights Inequality In The Madrasah Budget And State Schools

Minister of Religion (Menag) Nasaruddin Umar emphasized that the state needs to provide equal treatment between madrasas and public schools, especially in terms of financing and providing educational facilities.

He said there was still a big gap between madrasas and public schools, both from infrastructure and the welfare of educators. One of the most striking examples is the difference in the budget for education digitization programs.

"At the Ministry of Education and Culture, digitalization received a budget of IDR 10 trillion, while we only received IDR 81 billion for thousands of educational units," said Menawan in a meeting with the DPR Legislation Body (Baleg) at the Parliament Complex, Wednesday, November 19, in the discussion of the Teacher Bill and Lecturers quoted from Antara.

The Minister of Religion also highlighted that 95% of teachers under the Ministry of Religion, from various religions, are private with salaries far below standard. On the other hand, at the Ministry of Education and Culture, around 95% of teachers have the status of state civil servants (ASN).

He described this inequality by comparing the condition of public schools and madrasas that stand close together. State schools enjoy state-owned land, complete facilities, and teachers who earn around Rp. 4.5 million, while many madrasa teachers still receive honorariums of Rp. 50,000 to Rp. 300,000 per month.

However, Nasaruddin assessed that the quality of madrasas is increasingly recognized by the public. Many regions even prefer to establish madrasah Aliyah over high school because graduates are considered competitive, even though the budget is smaller.

Therefore, he emphasized that the education regulations that are being discussed provide justice in funding and strengthening madrasa institutions. Many local governments, he said, are reluctant to allocate aid because madrasas are under the Ministry of Religion, although madrasas also serve underprivileged students and become an integral part of the national education system.

"It's time for social justice to be realized for all Indonesian people," he said.

The Minister of Religion hopes that the DPR and the government can produce rules that ensure that madrasas are no longer left behind in accessing state support. He also appreciated President Prabowo's attention to the issue of education inequality and emphasized that the Ministry of Religion is ready to work together to expand financing for madrasas.

"Don't let the president's education program ignore madrasa again," he said.