Indonesian government races against time to launch Sekolah Rakyat aimed at providing free education for underprivileged children

The Star

24-05-2025

JAKARTA (Jakarta Post/ANN): The government is moving at full speed to prepare for the launch of President Prabowo Subianto 's flagship education initiative, Sekolah Rakyat (community school), which aims to provide free boarding school education to underprivileged children from elementary to secondary levels.
With the program scheduled to open in July, just months after its announcement, the focus has been on renovating state-owned buildings as well as recruiting teachers and support staff to meet the tight timeline.
However, as the Public Works Ministry scrambles to retrofit dozens of facilities and the Social Affairs Ministry accelerates staffing efforts, critics warn that the program's foundation remains shaky, with key questions about planning, quality and inclusivity left unanswered.
Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf says the new schools for the program will provide facilities on a par with top-tier institutions without tests on academic performance or IQ, which often restrict access to quality education.
'The only requirement to enter a Sekolah Rakyat is that the children come from poor families and have a willingness to learn,' Saifullah said on Wednesday in a statement on the ministry's website.
But many are skeptical that the government's timeline allows for the delivery of meaningful quality education or a thorough assessment of students' needs.
The Public Works Ministry began 65 renovation projects in early May, followed by another 35 scheduled projects, which aim to convert buildings managed by the Social Affairs Ministry or the local government into Sekolah Rakyat facilities.
But the renovation drive sparked a public backlash last week after it displaced visually impaired students from a century-old special needs school to make way for the programme.
The school is located in a rehabilitation center run by the Social Affairs Ministry in Bandung, West Java, part of which is being converted into a community school.
In response to the criticism, the government has pledged to return the students to their former school once renovations are complete, adding that part of the new facility will be dedicated to accommodating visually impaired students. Meanwhile, the ministry has launched an online recruitment interview to select principals from a pool of 160.
Successful candidates will then join a training program provided by the ministry, followed by an internship at existing schools that share the values of the Sekolah Rakyat programme.
The online recruitment, managed in collaboration with the Elementary and Secondary Education Ministry, will then proceed with the selection of dormitory supervisors, wardens and teachers. Schools minister Abdul Mu'ti said on Wednesday that teachers would be selected from those currently working at schools rather than new graduates, Antara reported.
The final quota for Sekolah Rakyat staff would depend on the number of schools ready to open by July, he added.
Mohammad Nuh, who chairs the Sekolah Rakyat Formation Team, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday that the new program would use a three-stage curriculum framework geared toward developing the unique talents of each student.
The first stage begins in June, when students arrive at the boarding schools, and is designed to evaluate their physical fitness and health, as well as academic abilities.
The second stage begins when the school year starts in July, with all students following the national curriculum.
The third stage runs concurrently with a special curriculum for evening classes developed by the Social Affairs Ministry, which focuses on character development, religious and civic values, digital literacy and essential life skills.
'The main point is talent mapping, as we want to develop each student's unique talents,' Nuh said.
Fikri Muslim, an education expert with the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), criticized Sekolah Rakyat as a hastily executed program with a political bent. 'The only real urgency seems to be fulfilling President Prabowo's campaign promise,' Fikri said on Thursday.
He also questioned the use of repurposed buildings located far from the low-income communities they aimed to serve and chastised the recruitment scheme as poaching teachers from areas already struggling with shortages.
Itje Chodidjah from the nonprofit Center for Education and Policy Studies (PSPK) warned the program risked doing more harm than good by isolating disadvantaged children in boarding schools disconnected from their families and communities.
'A big hindrance to their development is that they [will] feel mentally insecure outside their immediate family and community,' Itje said on Thursday.
'Sequestering dozens of [students] into a single compound could make them feel even more isolated.'
She urged the government to address the psychosocial needs of disadvantaged children, not just focus on their intellectual and physical development. - The Jakarta Post/ANN