“It is being reviewed,” Minister Umar remarked in Jakarta on Wednesday.
The notion of school holidays during Ramadan was earlier put forth by Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs Romo HR Muhammad Syafi’i, who later clarified that discussions on the matter had yet to take place.
School holidays during Ramadan were once implemented during the era of Indonesia’s fourth President, Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur), to allow students to focus more on religious studies and be more devout in worship.
However, Secretary-General of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), Amirsyah Tambunan, stated that school holidays during Ramadan should incorporate various engaging educational activities.
Tambunan stressed the importance of continuing education, with active involvement from parents and teachers, to prevent the term "holiday" from implying a detrimental absence of learning.
“In principle, everyone has to take responsibility for education, involving both parents and teachers. Thus, there should be no ‘holiday’ interpreted as a loss. If holidays are seen as a loss, it will place an additional burden on parents,” Amirsyah remarked.
He cautioned that if school holidays are misinterpreted as periods devoid of beneficial activities, then it will increase the burden on working parents, especially if children are left without educational engagement.
Amirsyah suggested alternative approaches during Ramadan, such as enjoyable educational programs, like short-term Islamic boarding school programs, which can enrich children’s experiences with religious education and spiritual values.
Meanwhile, Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Abdul Mu'ti recently stated that no discussion has been held regarding school holidays during Ramadan.
He said the idea remains a topic of discussion within the Ministry of Religious Affairs and has not progressed to a decision-making stage.
He further expressed uncertainty about whether the discourse will be addressed at the coordinating ministry level or fall under the president’s authority.
“As this involves national holidays, of course, I think it requires a joint decision across ministries. Therefore, we cannot make any decisions about Ramadan holidays,” Mu’ti remarked.
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Translator: Kuntum Khaira Riswan
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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