Starting a New Chapter of Service as the Principal of a People's School

Since the morning, amidst the noise of Jakarta's traffic, a middle-aged man dressed in military-style field attire hurriedly walked with a backpack on his back towards Pondok Indah, South Jakarta. From now on, he will begin a new chapter of service, becoming a people's school principal.

He is Regut Sutrasno (48), a teacher who has served for 24 years at a public school in Jakarta. His career journey as a teacher has been quite lengthy, starting as a contract teacher since 2001, then being appointed as a civil servant in 2008, and now choosing to answer the government's call to become a community school principal.

According to Regut, the decision to become a people's school principal was not made in pursuit of a position, but rather out of a calling. As a child, in his birthplace of Purworejo, Central Java, he experienced the difficulties of accessing education due to economic limitations.

"I used to be poor, an orphan as well. I remember that when I wanted to go to school, my mother was always confused, having to sell things here and there or wait for the rice harvest before she could register me for school," said Regut when met on Tuesday (17/6/2025).

For this reason, he does not want children of this generation to experience what he went through. This English teacher then decided to answer the call of the Ministry of Education and Culture to leave SMP Negeri 38, Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, where he currently teaches, and move to become the head of a community school at Sentra Handayani, Bambu Apus, East Jakarta, owned by the Ministry of Social Affairs.

The parents may be like that, but the child must change for the better.

The people's school is a boarding education program conceived by President Prabowo Subianto to provide free and quality education from elementary to high school for children from poor and extremely poor families. The government's hope is that with a good education for children, the cycle of poverty from their parents can be broken.

"This is humanizing humans, as an educator I feel called," he said.

Becoming a people's school principal is not without challenges. Regut will face various types of student characters from poor and extremely poor communities, which may differ from the characters of students in regular schools. He wants to prioritize a compassionate approach because these students may not have had any educational experience prior.

It is planned that Regut will not only come during teaching hours. He will stay in the dormitory with the students to ensure that all educational processes at the people's school, from waking up to going to sleep, run smoothly.

"I want to make them aware that poverty is not destiny; it can be changed with a strong will to learn. The parents may be like that, but the children must strive to become better," said Regut.

Similarly, Muhammad Jufrianto (45) also left his status as a civil servant teacher at State Senior High School 3 Takalar, South Sulawesi, to become the head of a community school at the Pangurangi Takalar Center, which is also owned by the Ministry of Social Affairs. He is a teacher who will soon hold a doctorate in the field of education and has served for 21 years.

"I want children who have truly lost hope to rise and be able to dream big, education is the key," said Jufrianto.

Although summoned by the state, Regut and Jufrianto continued to participate in a series of selections for the people's school principal. Since mid-May 2025, they have been completing the required documents, undergoing interviews, written tests, and internships at schools with similar characteristics to the people's school.

Now, along with 53 other community school principals, they are participating in the first phase of the community school principal retreat at the Margaguna Social Welfare Education and Training Center, Pondok Indah, South Jakarta. For five days, from June 16 to June 20, 2025, they will be trained by the Ministry of Social Affairs to become character-driven educators.

In addition to the Ministry of Social Affairs, the speakers at the retreat also came from several institutions, such as the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection, the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the Indonesian Child Protection Commission, as well as elements of the military.

School principals will receive various training materials, ranging from details on people's school policies, child-friendly inclusive education and human rights, motivation and social empathy, management of boarding schools, people's school curriculum, national defense and parenting guidance, to school administration management.

Social Minister Saifullah Yusuf emphasized that this retreat for school principals aims to shape community school leaders into school leaders who can foster social empathy by understanding the conditions of each student, teacher, and the school environment as a whole. As leaders, they are not only required to manage but must also be able to drive change.

"The school principal is a role model, a source of encouragement, a motivator, and a work exemplar. When they lose their way, the principal is their moral compass," said Saifullah.

The Minister and also the Secretary General of the Central Board of Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) stated that the recruitment of human resources (HR) for community schools is still ongoing. Currently, the target is to have 100 community school principals, with the remaining 47 principals to be announced on June 30, 2025, alongside the announcement of 1,554 community school teachers. After that, they will participate in the second stage retreat.

The total human resources required for the first phase of 100 community schools is 4,944 individuals. Among these thousands of people are; 100 school principals, 1,554 teachers, 600 religious teachers, 978 guardians, 252 dormitory supervisors, 400 cooks, and 600 security personnel.

They will educate a total of 9,780 students in the first phase of the community schools. To date, 4,112 prospective students have been confirmed in 39 community schools. The remaining students are in the process of being confirmed by local leaders to participate in the teaching and learning activities scheduled for July.