Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA) has expressed the hope that the Free Health Check (CKG) program for pesantren or Islamic boarding schools would help improve overall student health in the long term.
Pesantren are traditional, community-based Islamic educational institutions that are unique to Indonesia. The schools, which follow a boarding school system, provide both religious and general education. They are supervised by MoRA.
“We hope this initiative will enhance students’ health, and we are fully committed to supporting the Free Health Check program,” director general of Islamic education at the ministry, Amien Suyitno, said in Jakarta on Thursday.
According to Suyitno, not all pesantrens have adequate health facilities.
“That’s why this program initiated by the President is very strategic, especially considering the lack of proper healthcare infrastructure in many pesantrens,” he added.
The Religious Affairs Ministry has prepared the necessary infrastructure and facilities to support the implementation of CKG at educational institutions.
“The ministry is preparing across all education levels -- Islamic elementary schools (MI), junior high (MTs), senior high schools (MA), pesantren, and other religious schools under Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Catholic, and Confucian oversight,” Suyitno informed.
“We’re targeting over 11 million students, from elementary through to Aliyah (senior high school) level,” he said.
The Free Health Check program for schools will begin from Sekolah Rakyat (People’s Schools) on July 7, 2025. Thereafter, it will be rolled out in schools under the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikdasmen) and the Ministry of Religious Affairs from August 1.
The government aims to reach a total of 280 million Indonesians through the program, starting with 50 million in the first year.
“To reach the 50 million target, we must carry out the health checks in schools, as there are around 52 million school-aged children in Indonesia,” Minister of Health, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, said.
