PPP Response To Prabowo-Gibran Program: Endowment Fund For Islamic Boarding Schools Is Not A New Program, It's Already Running

Secretary of the United Development Party (PPP) DPR Achmad Baidowi/PHOTO DOK VOI

JAKARTA - Secretary of the United Development Party (PPP) faction of the House of Representatives, Achmad Baidowi, stated that the discourse of lasting funds for Islamic boarding schools is not a new program for the government.

"Pesantren's endowment fund is not a new program, but is a government program that is currently running," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, October 24.

He explained that the program had been regulated in Presidential Regulation Number 82 of 2021 concerning Funding for the Implementation of Islamic Boarding Schools.

"This PP is the implementing rule of Law Number 18 of 2019 concerning Islamic Boarding Schools," he said.

He emphasized that the birth of the Islamic Boarding School Law was a proposal from the PPP faction, which was originally named the Diniyah Education Bill and Islamic Boarding Schools.

The PPP faction continues to support the bill and then encourages the government to realize the pesantren endowment fund by issuing PP 82/2021.

He said that in 2023, the government had allocated funds of Rp250 billion to improve the quality of Islamic Boarding School Human Resources (HR). This fund is available through the Abadi Islamic Boarding School Fund scheme sourced from the Eternal Education Fund. He said, funds of Rp 80 billion will be allocated to 1,000 Santri recipients of the Presidential Santri Scholarship Program (PBSB).

"This program is a form of cooperation between the Ministry of Religion and the Education Fund Management Agency (LPDP)," he said.

In addition, in 2023, the State Budget has allocated IDR 250 billion which was taken from the Endowment Education Fund. For 2024, it has been included in the APBN Law, an increase of IDR 2 trillion will be taken from the additional IDR 15 Trillion of the Endowment Fund.

"The PPP faction in the plenary meeting proposed immediately the establishment of the Director General of Islamic Boarding Schools at the Ministry of Religion as a form of state attention to Islamic boarding schools. Islamic boarding schools have three functions, namely education, da'wah and community empowerment," he emphasized.