Promoting Pesantren's Welfare: UIN Jakarta Lecturer Evaluates Regulation for Islamic Boarding Schools

Ciputat, UIN Online News - Law Number 18 of 2019 concerning Islamic boarding schools has successfully acknowledged character-based educational services provided by these institutions; yet, it has not yet facilitated fair financial allocation for them. Thus, the event "Monitoring the Implementation of Law Number 18 of 2019 on Islamic Boarding Schools" was then held.

Dr. Suwendi, M.R.E., head of the Islamic Education Study Program at the Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teacher Training of UIN Jakarta, attended the event, which was organized by the special staff of the Secretariat General of the Indonesian House of Representatives in South Tangerang on Friday (21/3/2025).  

He asserted that this law acknowledges the educational services of the Islamic boarding schools: Formal Diniyah Education (PDF), Mu’adalah Education Units (SPM), and Ma’had Aly (MA). As these educational institutions continue to grow, the proper implementation of this law will increase their Gross Enrollment Rate (APK).

"The educational services of pesantren should possess legal status equivalent to that of elementary schools/Islamic elementary schools (SD/MI), junior high schools/Islamic junior high schools (SMP/MTs), senior high schools/Islamic senior high schools (SMA/MA), and higher education institutions." Dr. Suwendi argued.

Suwendi then quoted Cak Nur's claim: "If Indonesia had not been subjected to colonial rule, the prevailing educational system would have been the pesantren schooling.". It is known that during the colonialism era, pesantren were more inclusive for the pribumi (native) compared to the Dutch schools; hence, it became the most authentic education in Indonesia. 

Based on the aforementioned argument, he asserted that these so-called informal schools deserve the same rights, both monetarily and legally, regarding civil implications for their graduates and teachers. Such an assumption predates the establishment of the existing formal institutions.

"If the government officials share operational funds and monetary allocations with other educational institutions, pesantrens also have the same right to receive them," Dr. Suwendi urged.

Not only that, graduates akin to the pesantrens possess equal options to have the same education levels since the Indonesian education system follows a multi-entry multi-exit policy. It allows every citizen from various educational backgrounds to pursue higher education in accordance with relevant regulations.

In reality, the existing regulation for the pesantrens has not yet facilitated enough funding portion. Such an issue is getting serious recently when the budget restriction in the Ministry of Religious Affairs is being applied, leaving only 0.15% of the total national education budget for these marginalized institutions. 

"The distribution of the national education budget, totaling IDR 660 trillion, is mostly allocated to schools via ministries other than the Ministry of Religious Affairs and local governments, leading to a budget constraint for the pesantren with less than IDR 1 trillion," he mentioned.

The absence of endorsement from the regional government, at both provincial and district levels, to deliver educational services to pesantren, as stated by Suwendi, is attributed to Government Regulation Number 18 of 2022, which amends Government Regulation Number 48 of 2008 regarding Education Funding.  

Unfortunately, the substitute regulation says, "Local governments are fundamentally barred from allocating funds to pesantren unless the minimum education requirements (SPM) for schools, including kindergarten, elementary, junior high, senior high, and vocational schools in their jurisdictions, are completely satisfied." 

However, almost all provinces and regencies in Indonesia have yet to fulfill this prerequisite, resulting in insufficient financial assistance for pesantren from local authorities. Additionally, the graduates of these institutions are also perceived as less competitive in the employment market, furthering their economic suffering.

In the end, Suwendi encouraged the policy makers to withdraw Government Regulation Number 18 of 2022, Article 81, Paragraph 3. By allowing the pesantren to receive annual grants and equal chances, graduates and teachers of the pesantren will gain better welfare. 

"We should rescind this law's stipulation. The regional government must be permitted to assist pesantren via annual grant funding, and it must be distributed flawlessly within the regional budget (APBD) without exceeding the limit," he concluded.  

(Aidha Adha S./ZM/Muhamad Arifin Ilham)