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View all search resultsNew ‘pesantren’ office gains support after deadly collapse at Sidoarjo school
Following the President's green light to set up a new directorate general dedicated to pesantren, experts have hailed the move as necessary to improve both governance and oversight, including for structural issues believed to have led to last month's fatal disaster at a school in Sidoarjo.
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Young 'santri', or students of 'pesantren' (Islamic boarding school), prepare to observe ‘zuhur' (noon prayer) at a mosque on campus, in this undated file photo from the mid-2010s. (-/-)
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ducation experts have welcomed President Prabowo Subianto’s decision to establish a new directorate general for pesantren (Islamic boarding schools), a move deemed necessary to sort out their governance following the deadly collapse of a school that killed over 60 people last month.
To celebrate Santri Day on Oct. 22, which commemorates pesantren students, the President announced on Friday that he had green-lit the establishment of a pesantren directorate general at the Religious Affairs Ministry for better oversight and governance of the schools.
Until now, the ministry’s Islamic education directorate general has been responsible for managing pesantren.
“This shows it is a strategic priority of the government to pay more attention to, protect, strengthen and improve the welfare of pesantren,” Prabowo said in a video message posted to the Presidential Secretariat’s YouTube channel (@Sekretariat Presiden) on Saturday.
Prabowo also acknowledged the contributions santri made in upholding the country’s values and stressed their importance in continuing to maintain “Islamic and Indonesian roots” on the global stage.
“I believe today’s santri are not only guardians of the nation’s morals but also pioneers of progress, mastering religious and worldly knowledge with their [sense of morality] and great competitive nature,” he said.
The President’s nod to establish the new office follows last month’s tragic, fatal collapse of a three-story prayer hall at Pondok Pesantren Al Khoziny in Sidoarjo, East Java. The cause of the disaster, which led to at least 61 deaths, mostly students who were praying when the structure fell, has been attributed to a construction failure.
