"Children of the poor should not be poor. If the father is a scavenger, the child should not become a scavenger. We must empower them," he noted in a statement on Saturday.
The president made this statement during the plenary cabinet meeting on Friday, during which he revealed that 200 boarding schools will be built this year, targeting one thousand students per school.
"It will consist of elementary, junior high, and high schools for the poor," he remarked.
He emphasized that the Sekolah Rakyat program is not merely an educational facility but a strategic step toward empowering the poor.
During his speech, he highlighted that the government targets the first 53 Sekolah Rakyat to be inaugurated in the next three months.
According to Prabowo, the Ministry of Social Affairs has several buildings to be renovated to accelerate the realization of the program, while 147 other schools will follow shortly.
The president aims to establish 200 Sekolah Rakyat each year, ensuring that within the next five years, at least one such school will be present in each district, especially in areas with pockets of poverty.
"We want to eliminate poverty as quickly as possible," he emphasized.
For the next step, Minister of Social Affairs Saifullah Yusuf, Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Abdul Mu'ti, and Coordinating Minister for Economy Affairs Airlangga Hartarto were urged to ensure the program runs according to plan.
Furthermore, the head of state emphasized the importance of cross-government collaboration and a spirit of unity in carrying out development programs.
The Sekolah Rakyat program is known to be a new milestone in the efforts to equalize education and eradicate poverty in Indonesia.
With the concept of free and boarding education, graduates of the school are expected to excel academically and have a strong character to become the agents of change to improve the welfare of their families and escape the poverty trap.
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Translator: Tri Meilani, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Arie Novarina
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