"Actually, we don't need to look for a new form. Madrasahs are very proper to become Sekolah Rakyat because they already exist in the community," he added in Jakarta on Tuesday.
He made the remarks during the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Religious Affairs and the Ministry of Social Affairs to make the Sekolah Rakyat program and poverty alleviation a success.
The Sekolah Rakyat initiative has been launched by President Prabowo Subianto to make education accessible to students from poor and extremely poor families.
According to Umar, currently, many madrasahs and Islamic boarding schools are still in satisfactory condition and get sufficient attention. In fact, they are part of people's education that has been running for a long time.
"Rather than madrasahs and Islamic boarding schools being abandoned and dirty, it is better if we optimize them as a real Sekolah Rakyat," he said.
The minister further highlighted that 90 percent of Islamic boarding schools in Indonesia are managed by the private sector, so this collaboration can be a faster and more effective solution for equalizing education for the poor and extremely poor families.
"By utilizing madrasahs and Islamic boarding schools, it can be a solution for themselves and also for the community who need education," he said.
Earlier, Umar and Social Affairs Minister Syaifullah Yusuf signed an MoU covering the exchange of data and information and the development of social welfare; human resource competencies; and strategic social, religion, education, and training policies.
The agreement also includes training in religious teaching materials and character building of teachers and education personnel at education units under the Ministry of Social Affairs.
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Translator: Asep Firmansyah, Asri Mayang Sari
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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