One Year of Prabowo-Gibran: Strengthening Islamic Boarding School Infrastructure to Enhance Santri Education Quality and Safety
Jakarta — Under the leadership of President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the Indonesian government continues to demonstrate its commitment to strengthening religious education infrastructure, particularly Islamic boarding schools (pondok pesantren, or ponpes).
The Ministry of Public Works, the Ministry of Religious Affairs, and the Ministry of Home Affairs have signed a joint agreement (SKB) as a strategic step to support the development of safe, healthy, and sustainable ponpes infrastructure.
The signing, which took place at the Heritage Building of the Coordinating Ministry for Community Empowerment, was witnessed by Coordinating Minister for Community Empowerment Abdul Muhaimin Iskandar (Cak Imin). The agreement reinforces the synergistic roles between ministries and local governments in ensuring that pondok pesantrenreceive serious attention, especially in terms of technical standards and building permits.
Minister of Public Works Dody Hanggodo stated that his ministry serves as a technical partner to support local governments and the Ministry of Religious Affairs in strengthening pesantren infrastructure across Indonesia.
“The Ministry of Public Works acts as a technical partner to assist local governments and the Ministry of Religious Affairs in strengthening pesantren infrastructure nationwide. We want to ensure that every pesantren, no matter how small, receives equal attention so that students can learn in safe and comfortable environments,” Dody emphasized.
To realize this goal, regional governments are encouraged to facilitate the permitting process, building certifications, and technical assistance. The Ministry of Public Works is providing a hotline service and on-site assistance, working in collaboration with local public works departments. In addition, assessments of building reliability will be conducted in the eight provinces with the highest number of pesantren, aimed at establishing standardized, livable infrastructure.
Furthermore, Cak Imin highlighted that infrastructure assistance will prioritize pesantren with large student populations (over 1,000 students) and limited economic resources.
“President Prabowo wants this assistance to be distributed widely, but the main priority is pesantren that are in critical need—so our children can study in a safe and dignified environment,” Cak Imin stated.
This program is a direct response to government evaluations following the collapse of a building at Al-Khoziny Islamic Boarding School in Sidoarjo. President Prabowo ordered swift and appropriate government action to address religious education infrastructure to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
In addition to physical infrastructure, the agreement also emphasizes the training and certification of construction workers among santri (Islamic students). The aim is to transform the traditional spirit of gotong royong (mutual cooperation) in pesantren into formally recognized technical skills.
“If the Ministry of Religious Affairs is the guardian of moral values and local governments are the implementers on the ground, then we at the Ministry of Public Works serve as the technical bridge to ensure the development proceeds in harmony. We’re not just building structures—we’re building learning spaces that honor humanity,” concluded Minister Dody Hanggodo.
With these concrete measures, the Prabowo-Gibran administration is actively working to ensure that Islamic boarding schools become safe, high-quality institutions that are an integral part of the national education ecosystem—producing resilient and competitive future generations.
