VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian Vice President Ma'ruf Amin has said that the government will disburse Rp2.7 trillion in funds to support 21,000 Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) in implementing online learning activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs kept the funds and would distribute it to the Islamic boarding schools, Amin said in a video uploaded to the official Youtube account of the Vice President on Sunday.

"The government has allocated the budget amounting to Rp2.7 trillion for 21,000 pesantren. The funds are already in the pocket of the Minister of Religious Affairs (Fachrul Razi) and must be distributed within one to two months," he said.

Of the total 2.7 trillion, Rp2.38 trillion will be for the boarding schools' operational activities and Rp317 billion for the construction and improvement of the Internet networks to support online learning activities.

Each pesantren will get a grant based on the number of students studying, each worth Rp50 million, Rp40 million, or Rp25 million.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance on its official website mentioned that new habit adaptation (new normal) assistance is worth Rp2.6 trillion, comprising Rp2.38 trillion for Educational Operational Assistance (BOP) and Rp211.7 billion for online learning assistance for three months.

The BOP funds will be given to assist 21,173 Islamic boarding schools, 62,153 Islamic schools, and 112,008 Al Quran educational institutions (LPA).

Since the government announced the country's first COVID-19 cases in early March 2020, students have been studying from home by using the Internet network for online learning, in order to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus transmission. (ANTARA)