Sekolah Rakyat program expands educational access in Indonesia

The Indonesian government is expanding the Sekolah Rakyat (SR) program, a strategic initiative of President Prabowo Subianto designed to provide equitable education for underprivileged children, including those who have dropped out of school. The program aims to improve human resource quality by offering academic learning, boarding facilities, and character building.

Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf recently visited Sekolah Rakyat Terintegrasi (SRT) 4 in Jakarta, where hundreds of students took an anti-bullying, anti-violence, and anti-intolerance pledge. Yusuf emphasized the need to improve governance, supervision, and the recruitment of educators, such as teachers and dormitory supervisors, to address existing facility and staffing shortcomings.

Other regional implementations include SRT 1 in Bekasi, where defense university cadets provide mentorship, and SRT 2 in Surabaya, which provides free food, pocket money, and boarding for students from low-income families. In Deli Serdang, North Sumatra, the program utilizes a Multi Entry Multi Exit (MEME) system alongside a character-strengthening program called BERSUKA to support students in a boarding school environment.