JAKARTA - The provisions on funding in Law Number 18 of 2019 concerning Pesantren are being sued to the Constitutional Court (MK). The applicant considers that the state is not enough to "help" funding pesantren, but is obliged to finance santri education as part of the constitutional mandate.
The question arose in the continuation of the trial of the material of the Pesantren Law held by the Constitutional Court on Wednesday, June 3. The trial highlighted Article 48 paragraph (2) of the Pesantren Law which states that the state helps fund the implementation of pesantren.
The Chairman of the Masyayikh Assembly, Abdul Ghofarrozin, stated that the provision was not in line with the mandate of Article 31 of the 1945 Constitution which requires the state to guarantee the provision of education for all citizens.
"Pesantren is part of the national education system which carries out the function of education as mandated by Article 31 of the 1945 Constitution," said Ghofarrozin in the trial.
According to him, the status of pesantren as part of the national education system has been emphasized in Articles 15 and 16 of the Pesantren Law. Therefore, the state has the same responsibility to finance education in pesantren as the funding provided to schools and other educational institutions.
"Therefore, the state is still obliged to finance pesantren education. The phrase 'assist in funding the implementation of pesantren' in Article 48 paragraph (2) of the Pesantren Law deviates from the constitutional mandate," he said.
Ghofarrozin explained that the use of the word "assist" in the Pesantren Law was born from technical considerations and fiscal limitations during the law-making process. However, according to him, this reason cannot be used as a basis for reducing the state's obligation to fulfill the educational rights of students.
He emphasized that the right to education is a constitutional right that must be guaranteed by the state without relying on the fiscal capacity of the region or the budget policy of the local government.
"Funding for pesantren must not depend on fluctuations in the fiscal capacity of the region or the political will of the regional government budget. The right to education for students is a constitutional right that must be guaranteed by the state," he said.
The lawsuit against the Pesantren Law is considered to have a major impact on the future of pesantren education in Indonesia. If the Constitutional Court grants the request, the state has the potential to have a more firm legal obligation to finance the education of millions of students who study at thousands of pesantren throughout Indonesia.
The MK's decision can also be an important foundation in strengthening the position of pesantren as an integral part of the national education system, as well as providing certainty regarding the state's responsibility in financing pesantren-based education.
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