Jakarta, Oct. 6 -- Indonesia's Ministry of Religious Affairs said it would establish building standards for Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) to prevent future incidents like the recent collapse at Al Khoziny Islamic School.

"The issue of building standards will be discussed with kiai (scholars), gus (clerics), and other pesantren stakeholders," said the ministry's head of public relations, Thobib Al Asyhar, in Jakarta on Monday.

Thobib said the Al Khoziny incident had drawn serious attention from the Minister of Religious Affairs, who visited the site shortly after the collapse.

"The minister visited a few days ago to better understand the situation, express empathy for the victims, and directly assess the conditions at the site," ...