"This is the idea of President Prabowo to break the chain of poverty through quality education, especially for low-income families," he stated in Serang, Banten, on Friday.
He explained that the Skolah Rakyat program is intended for families living in extreme poverty, as several children from those families are unable to continue their education to junior or senior high school due to financial constraints.
Yusuf noted that the construction of these schools will be implemented in stages. Currently, renovations are underway for 65 buildings that will serve as temporary locations for the program.
"It is temporary. Only one year, then next year, it will move to more permanent buildings," he remarked.
With the permanent facilities, in the future, each school will accommodate more than a thousand students across three educational levels: elementary, junior high, and senior high schools.
The president aims for each district and city to have at least one Sekolah Rakyat school.
The minister remarked that 35 additional locations have been proposed for the program so far, bringing the total number of pilot locations to 100.
The tuition-free schools are targeted to begin operating in July 2025. Currently, the Ministry of Social Affairs is enhancing three types of curricula to be adopted: matriculation, formal learning, and character education.
He expressed hope that through Sekolah Rakyat, children from low-income families will become agents of social and economic change and help drive progress in their respective regions.
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Translator: Devi Nindy, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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