Directorate General of Pesantren Will Manage More than 42 Thousand Pesantren

Director General of Islamic Education at the Ministry of Religion Suyitno. ANTARA/HO-Kemenag

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Religion (Kemenag) continues to prepare the establishment of the Directorate General (Ditjen) Pesantren which will become a structure at the level of Eselon I and will take care of more than 42 thousand pesantren.

Director General of Islamic Education at the Ministry of Religion, Amien Suyitno, said the establishment of the Directorate General of Pesantren was an important momentum. Because, until now, the management of pesantren is still under the Directorate General of Islamic Education (Pendis) whose scope of work is very broad.

"So far, the Directorate General of Islamic Religious Education has covered more than 42 thousand pesantren, from the Religious Education (RA) to the Islamic Religious Education (MA), Islamic religious universities, as well as more than 42 thousand pesantren. The scope of work is very large. This separation of structure will make the management of pesantren more focused, fast, and measurable," said Suyitno in his statement in Jakarta, Antara, Wednesday, February 25.

According to him, the establishment of the Directorate General of Pesantren is still waiting for the issuance of the Presidential Regulation (Perpres) concerning the Ministry of Religion. Currently, the applicable regulation is Presidential Regulation No. 152 of 2024 concerning the Ministry of Religion which was issued on November 5, 2024.

In this Presidential Decree, the organizational structure of the Ministry of Religion consists of the General Secretariat, the Directorate General of Islamic Education, the Directorate General of Hajj and Umrah, the Directorate General of Islamic Community Guidance, the Directorate General of Christian Community Guidance.

Then, the Directorate General of Catholic Community Guidance, the Directorate General of Hindu Community Guidance, the Directorate General of Buddhist Community Guidance, the Inspector General, the Religious Moderation and Human Resources Development Agency, and three experts.

"The new presidential decree on the Ministry of Religion has been a process of cross-ministerial harmonization, including the Ministry of Law and Human Rights and the State Secretariat," said Suyitno.

He is optimistic that the regulation will be completed soon, because the formation of the Directorate General of Pesantren has long been an aspiration of the pesantren community.

"This is not a new discourse. It has been fought for and now it is finding its momentum," he said.

Suyitno views the establishment of the Directorate General of Pesantren not merely as an addition to the bureaucratic structure, but directly related to the priority of national human resources development (SDM).

Pesantren, he said, not only serves as an Islamic educational institution, but also has a role in preaching and empowering the community.

"If it is managed more focused, the impact is not only on education, but also on strengthening the economy of pesantren and social development in the region," he said.

With the number of pesantren reaching tens of thousands and spread to remote areas, the existence of the Directorate General itself is expected to accelerate the distribution of programs and affirmative budget more accurately.