Four Ministry of Social Affairs Service Centers in Central Java Planned to Become People's Schools

SEMARANG, KOMPAS — Four social service centers owned by the Ministry of Social Affairs in several regions of Central Java will be transformed into People's Schools. Under this program, each school is targeted to provide free education to 1,000 students from poor and extremely poor families.

Minister of Social Affairs Saifullah Yusuf stated that the People's School is one of President Prabowo Subianto's programs aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty through sustainable education.

Unlike most schools, students attending Sekolah Rakyat are not required to pay. All expenses at Sekolah Rakyat are fully covered by the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN).

The People's School consisting of elementary, junior high and high school levels, Saifullah said, will use a boarding system. That way, not only will education be free, but also the cost of food and drink and accommodation.

"This school is prioritized for those who fall into decile 1 and decile 2 in the Integrated National Socio-Economic Data (DT SEN) or families classified as extremely poor and poor. Subsequently, they will undergo a selection process," said Saifullah after leading the Coordination and Socialization Meeting on the Establishment of People's Schools at the Central Java Governor's Office complex, Wednesday (12/3/2025).

Each school is targeted to accommodate up to 1,000 students from families in extreme poverty and poverty living around the school. If the number of students from families in extreme poverty and poverty does not meet the quota of 1,000 individuals, students from vulnerable poor families may also participate.

According to Saifullah, the curriculum to be implemented in Sekolah Rakyat will be an advanced school curriculum combined with the specific situations and conditions of each region. The special curriculum for Sekolah Rakyat is currently being developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Kementerian Dikdasmen) and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology.

Not only the curriculum, but teachers and educators for Sekolah Rakyat are also being prepared by the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education. Teachers and educators registered with the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education will undergo testing before being assigned to various Sekolah Rakyat.

Saifullah said that as many People's Schools as possible will be built throughout Indonesia. However, there are around 50 schools that have been deemed ready to start in the 2025/2026 school year.

In Central Java, there are four social service centers owned by the Ministry of Social Affairs that Saifullah considered could be used for the People's School. The four centers are located in Temanggung, Pati, Magelang, and Surakarta City.

"The four places are ready for this year's People's School program. Today we have coordinated, later, maybe in the next week, it will be known from Central Java how many are ready. Our hope is that each city and district will have at least one," said Saifullah.

Central Java Governor Ahmad Luthfi said that the Central Java Provincial Government is ready to support the People's School program. In addition to the Central Java Provincial Government's land, assets owned by the district/city government will also be inventoried to be used as People's Schools.

"Earlier, several regents and mayors had prepared land, some were 5 hectares and so on. Later we will conduct verification. It's just socialization. But in principle, we are all ready," said Luthfi.

This school is prioritized for those who are in decile 1 and decile 2 on the National Integrated Socio-Economic Data (DT SEN) or extremely poor and poor families.

Head of the Central Java Social Service Imam Maskur said, not only empty land can be used for People's Schools. School buildings that are no longer used due to the school merger program due to the lack of students can also be used.

"Areas that have idle schools or idle assets can be proposed later. Existing assets can be optimized, can be revitalized. Later the model can be by granting or borrowing," said Imam.

According to Imam, the People's Schools that will be established in four service centers in Central Java will open registration for students from elementary, junior high, and high school levels. Acceptance of new students for the People's Schools, said Imam, will begin in July 2025.