Adrian Wail Akhlas, Jakarta – The government has allocated Rp 2.6 trillion (US$177 million) to support pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) as part of the government's broader efforts to revive an economy battered by the coronavirus pandemic.
It allotted Rp 2.38 trillion in education funds for pesantren and madrasah (Islamic schools), Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said. A total of Rp 211 billion was also prepared to help schools with online learning.
For businesses created by santri (Islamic boarding school students), the government will provide funding through the micro credit program (KUR) and ultra-micro financing in state-owned banks. It will also provide incentives for teachers, ustad (Islamic teachers) and pesantren workers through social aid and infrastructure development.
"We are hoping that the santri can use this access to financing to support their businesses and empower our economic capacity," she told a discussion on Thursday.
Vice President Ma'ruf Amin previously instructed his subordinates to help pesantren stay afloat by providing them financial assistance during the health and economic crisis.
There are more than 28,000 pesantren in the country with 18 million santri, according to data from the Finance Ministry.
"The government has allocated education funds for pesantren and other religious schools through the pesantren economic recovery program amid the COVID-19 pandemic," Sri Mulyani said.
"We are preparing this to help them embrace the new normal and help with their education operations."
The program is part of the government's Rp 695.2 trillion stimulus plan to revive the economy and strengthen the healthcare response to the pandemic, but critics say that slow disbursement has hindered the economic recovery. The government has spent 48.6 percent of the stimulus since the start of the outbreak in the country seven months ago.
Speaking during the same discussion, Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo said pesantren could help boost the country's sharia economy.
"We should push the role of pesantren as the center of education and economic activity so that they can be more resilient and play an active role in developing the sharia economy," the central bank's top official said.