Pekanbaru Education Office Uses Teacher Zakat To Boil Student Diplomas Detained In Private Schools

Pekanbaru Head Of Education, Abdul Jamal, said that his party would redeem student arrears in student costs at ANTARA/HO-Pemko Pekanbaru private schools.

PekanBARU - Pekanbaru City Education Office (Disdik), Riau, will redeem a diploma belonging to students detained by private schools for in arrears in education costs. This effort was carried out in direct coordination with related educational institutions.

Head of Pekanbaru Education Office Abdul Jamal said his party asked private schools to provide fee relief so that student diplomas could be issued immediately.

"If the arrears are Rp. 5 million, we may pay Rp. 2 or Rp. 3 million. We also ask the private sector to provide relief so that the diploma can be handed over, so that the children can continue their education," said Jamal in Pekanbaru, Antara, Wednesday, July 30.

He explained, for public schools, the detention of diplomas is not a problem because they can be immediately ordered to be issued. However, for private schools, a common approach and solution is needed because it involves internal policies and financing.

Disdik Pekanbaru will use professional zakat funds from teachers to pay for the redeeming of diplomas. Every month, the funds collected from the zakat of the teacher profession reach around Rp150 million. This scheme is carried out because funds for this purpose have not been listed in the 2025 Pekanbaru City Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBD).

"For the initial stage, because it has not been budgeted in the APBD, we use zakat for the teaching profession. Like in DKI Jakarta, this is permissible if it is used to help students redeem diplomas," explained Jamal.

This step is a follow-up to the instructions of the Mayor of Pekanbaru Agung Nugroho, who asked Disdik to help students from underprivileged families who have difficulty paying tuition fees in private schools.

According to Jamal, the detention of diplomas due to arrears forced some students to leave school. Pekanbaru City Government is currently collecting data on children who have dropped out of school to be returned to education.