Jakarta (ANTARA) – Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas issued Circular Letter Number 2 of 2024 to call on extension workers and counselors to play an active role in supporting government priority programs.
“Minister Qoumas asked religious extension workers and counselors to play an active role in the promotion and education processes (of government programs),” the minister’s special staff, Wibowo Prasetyo, remarked here on Tuesday.
Prasetyo highlighted that four government programs specifically mandated in the circular are stunting rate reduction, poverty elimination, economic empowerment, and environmental conservation.
He highlighted that the Religious Affairs Ministry, under Minister Qoumas’ leadership, is seeking to strengthen the role of extension workers and counselors in the community.
Along with the dawah preachers, counselors, and religious extension workers, the ministry strives to improve the quality of religious education in order to create a healthy and prosperous society, in terms of the physical and mental aspects.
“They are strategic actors in educating the public, which is related to the efforts of reducing stunting, eliminating poverty, economic empowerment, and conserving the environment,” Prasetyo stated.
He explained that in the circular, the ministry mandated the heads of regional religious offices from the province, district, city, to the sub-district levels to carry out guidance, monitoring, and reporting on activities supporting the government programs.
“The process of guidance and monitoring in the circular implementation is carried out regularly to ensure that all religious extension workers and counselors play an active role in supporting the government’s priority programs,” he stated.
Earlier, the ministry had urged religious extension workers to improve their insights and literacy on technology.
“Now is the age of information technology, and every religious extension worker must be technologically literate,” the ministry’s Director General of Islamic Community Guidance Kamaruddin Amin remarked.
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