Jakarta, Oct. 14 -- Public Works Minister Dody Hanggodo affirmed that the government will assist Islamic boarding schools (pesantrens) in the country to create safe and comfortable buildings.

At the joint agreement signing ceremony regarding the synergy in managing pesantren infrastructure, here on Tuesday, he noted that the assistance will include the licensing and certification processes.

"Through today's agreement, we want to strengthen our role as the spearhead of development so that every pesantren, no matter how small, receives our attention," he said.

According to him, in the initial stage, the assistance will be provided in eight provinces, given the high number of pesantrens there.

Those provinces are West Java, East Java, Ba...