South Tangerang (Kemenag) – The Ministry of Religion (Kemenag) this year succeeded in completing the certification of all Islamic Religious Education (PAI) Teachers in schools. This was conveyed by Minister of Religion Nasaruddin Umar, when opening the inaugural lecture of the 3rd Class of Professional Teacher Education (PPG) at the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN) campus, Jakarta, Wednesday (3/9/2025).
"As many as 91,028 PAI teachers in schools have been completed. This means that this year the Ministry of Religion has completed 100% PAI teacher certification. This is a monumental achievement born from the hard work and synergy of many parties," said the Minister of Religion.
In addition to PAI, the number of PPG participants from other religious education teachers also jumped sharply. As of September 2025, there were 206,411 teachers following PPG - a high 700% compared to 2024 which was only 29,933 teachers. Among them, there were 10,848 Christian Religious Education teachers, 5,558 Catholics, 3,771 Hinduism, 530 Buddhas, and 94,736 Madrasah teachers.
According to the Minister of Religion, this achievement is in line with the Asta Cita President and Vice President in building superior human resources, while supporting Asta Protas Ministry of Religion to present a friendly, superior and integrated education.
"PPG should not be seen as a formality of certification. This is a space of transformation towards professionalism. Teachers are the spearhead of religious education. With this certification, we hope that teachers will be more integrity, professional, and become an example of the nation's generation," said the Minister of Religion.
The Minister of Religion also emphasized the importance of the teacher's philosophy. "The teacher comes from Sanskrit, 'Gu' means darkness, and 'ru' means light. So the teacher is a figure who drives out the darkness. The teacher is not only a teacher, but an educator and Murshid who teaches his students, shapes the character, and light their conscience," he explained.
The Director General of Islamic Education, Amin Suyitno, added that PPG 2025 was flexible with the support of the Learning Management System (LMS). The teacher can adjust the study time without disturbing teaching assignments, both online and luring, with the assistance of LPTK/PTKIN lecturers.
"The Ministry of Religion ensures the religious understanding of the teachers who graduated from PPG in harmony with the religious vision of the Ministry of Religion, which we call a love -based curriculum," explained Amin.
He emphasized that the teacher is not just a matter of material or methodology, but a matter of soul. "Methodology is more important than material, teachers are more important than the methodology, and the soul of the teacher is more important than the teacher himself. This PPG is expected to give birth to a professional teacher who has a strong soul, integrity, and moral message for his students," said the Director General.
The opening ceremony of PPG 2025 also began with interfaith prayers. Teachers from various religions - Islam, Catholicism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism - lead a joint prayer for the safety of the nation. This moment becomes a strong symbol of unity and harmony in diversity, as well as affirmation that religious teachers, whatever the setting of their beliefs, have an important role in maintaining the integrity of the nation.