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View all search resultsGovt to form special building inspection team after fatal ‘pesantren’ collapse in Sidoarjo
As a new task force begins to emerge in the aftermath of the Al Khoziny school tragedy, experts are urging the government to step up to the plate and meet its legal obligations in delivering quality education and safe learning facilities.
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Fallen concrete pillars, broken walls and lumber fill the site where a three-story prayer room once stood at Pondok Pesantren Al Khoziny, an Islamic boarding school in Sidoarjo, East Java, as seen in this photo taken on Sept. 29, 2025. (Antara Foto/Umarul Faruq)
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he government is forming a task force to inspect buildings at pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) across the country following the deadly collapse of Pondok Pesantren Al Khoziny in Sidoarjo, East Java, but experts warn auditing is not enough and say deeper reforms are needed for national oversight.
On Sept. 29, a three-story musholla (prayer room) at Al Khoziny school collapsed while dozens of students were performing asar (afternoon prayer). Search and rescue personnel saved 104 students, while the toll reached 61 dead and two missing as of Oct. 8, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).
The incident, said to be the country’s deadliest nonnatural disaster this year, has sparked alarm over chronic mismanagement and lax safety standards at more than 40,000 pesantren nationwide that house 11 million students and employ 1 million teachers.
In response, Coordinating Social Empowerment Minister Muhaimin Iskandar said the government would establish a task force to conduct a building audit at all Islamic boarding schools and to carry out urgent repairs, starting with the oldest and most at-risk facilities.
The task force would also verify the number and location of pesantren “based on data from regional administrations, and then cross-check them with community reports”, Muhaimin told reporters on Tuesday, after a meeting with Public Works Minister Dody Hanggodo.
He also urged boarding schools to obtain the building approval (PBG), after authorities found that only 50 boarding schools held the preconstruction permit.
“No matter how small, every pesantren building must have a PBG permit. The Public Works Ministry has reassured the process will be free of charge,” Muhaimin added.
