Indonesia readies regional sites for Prabowo’s free school program

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Jakarta (ANTARA) – Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian said he is coordinating with regional governments to prepare sites for tuition-free schools under the Sekolah Rakyat (People’s School) program in support of President Prabowo Subianto’s vision.

He noted in a statement cited here Sunday that the government intends to maximize the use of underutilized regional government assets to advance the national priority program.

Tito made the remarks while attending the groundbreaking ceremony for a Sekolah Rakyat campus in Biak Numfor District, Papua, on Saturday (Aug. 1), where he also distributed aid to teachers and students.

The minister emphasized that Sekolah Rakyat is intended for children from families classified as poor or extremely poor in the government’s database, with the aim of helping them build better futures through quality education.

He added that all campuses adopt a full-boarding school concept, with each complex comprising classrooms, dormitories, teachers’ quarters, and sports facilities.

Tito credited President Prabowo with initiating the program, described it as a manifestation of the president’s commitment to ensuring equitable access to quality education for all Indonesian children. He underlined that the head of state recognizes the government’s constitutional mandate to guarantee inclusive educational opportunities for children nationwide.

The minister further described Sekolah Rakyat as proof of Prabowo’s “genuine understanding of the wishes of the founding fathers of Indonesia.”

During the visit, Tito also distributed 45 packages of staple goods to teachers and 88 drinking bottles to students.

Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf had earlier reported that the Sekolah Rakyat program has been operating since July 2025 at 166 locations nationwide, with most schools temporarily operating from existing government facilities.

He noted that the government had begun constructing permanent Sekolah Rakyat campuses at more than 100 locations across the country, with each campus projected to accommodate between 2,000 and 2,500 students.

“Last year, the total number of Sekolah Rakyat students exceeded 15,000. We have decided to increase the admission quota by 30,000 this year,” Yusuf remarked in Bandung, West Java, on July 23.