Former Minister of Education M Nuh Appointed to Manage People's Schools

JAKARTA, KOMPAS - The government continues to refine the plan for the people's school program aimed at underprivileged families. Former Minister of Education and Culture Mohammad Nuh has been appointed as the Chair of the Formative Team and the Task Force for Accelerating People's Schools initiated by the Ministry of Social Affairs.

Minister of Social Affairs Saifullah Yusuf revealed that the people's school program is a directive from President Prabowo Subianto, aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty through education. With an educated and empowered society, poverty rates and extreme poverty can be reduced to achieve Golden Indonesia 2045.

"The main goal, among others, is to break the cycle of poverty by establishing schools deemed strategic for breaking the cycle of poverty," said Saifullah in a written statement, Thursday (6/3/2025).

The Ministry of Social Affairs is responsible for this program, involving the Coordinating Ministry for Community Empowerment, the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, as well as the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Kemendiktisaintek).

This type of school is considered to reinforce social inequality, and quality education can only be enjoyed by certain groups.

In addition, there are also the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the Ministry of Public Works, the Ministry of Finance, the National Civil Service Agency, the National Institute of Public Administration, the Presidential Staff Office, local governments, as well as universities to realize the aspects needed by the People's School.

To refine the concept of this community school, Saifullah appointed former Minister of Education and Culture Mohammad Nuh as the Chair of the Formative Team and the Task Force for Accelerating Community Schools. Nuh is considered to have extensive experience in managing the education sector, enabling him to design the community school effectively.

Mohammad Nuh emphasized that various academic studies prove that education is the key to breaking the chain of poverty. Therefore, he considered this government policy to be appropriate and must be implemented.

"Now is the time for the poor to rise. Have strong self-confidence, have a very clear future through our world of education," said Nuh.

This public school, Nuh continued, will of course be funded by the state, aka free for children from poor families. The plan is that the public school which will start in 2025 will be in the form of a boarding school by utilizing the infrastructure facilities owned by the Ministry of Social Affairs.

The formation team is preparing various things, school permits, educators, and also the curriculum. In addition, he also added that governance and quality control are also important because they concern monitoring the quality of the school. Further provisions will soon be finalized by the People's School Formation Team.

"We will start this year, the academic year, the 2025-2026 school year. We want to initiate it starting from elementary school, junior high school, senior high school, or vocational school. In fact, it could be combined with madrasah. This is in the form of boarding (dormitory)," said Nuh.

Deputy Secretary General of the Indonesian Teachers Association (PGRI) Catur Nurrochman Oktavian assessed that the people's schools initiated by the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Garuda Schools initiated by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology could erode the spirit of inclusive education that is desired. Such schools are considered to strengthen social inequality, and quality education can only be enjoyed by certain groups.

The plan to establish two types of schools seems to bring back castes in education. The spirit of inclusiveness in education is again questioned with the emergence of this plan.

"There needs to be an in-depth study and input from education experts so that the implementation of quality education for all does not seem to be rebuilding exclusivism like in the Dutch East Indies era," said Catur.

Catur hopes the government will reconsider this plan. Because, the program to improve the quality of education in existing public and private schools, including improving proper education infrastructure to realize quality education for all, is more important and efficient than creating a new school concept.

Professor of the Indonesian Education University Cecep Darmawan added that the establishment of public schools should not ignore the government's obligation to provide formal schools whose capacity is currently still limited. The limited capacity of public schools has always been a problem in every acceptance of new students.

"Especially junior high and high schools which are still lacking in number, or this can also be done by involving more private schools," said Cecep.