“To date, there are more than 9,700 students who are ready to participate in learning at 100 locations,” he informed in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Currently, the Ministry of Health is conducting free health screenings for prospective Sekolah Rakyat students.
The health screening is aimed at checking the health of prospective students and anticipating the transmission of diseases in school dormitories.
“Because this applies a boarding school concept, of course, everyone is expected to be healthy. If there is someone who is sick, or maybe there is an infectious disease, then, in accordance with the President’s order, they must be helped to recover,” he informed.
After they fully recover, the minister said, they can participate in the learning process.
He informed that 63 Sekolah Rakyat schools are ready to operate from July 14, 2025. Meanwhile, another 37 schools are expected to start from late July or early August 2025, once their infrastructure development is complete.
In the second phase of the program, the government will seek to add 100 more schools for the 2025–2026 academic year, in line with President Prabowo Subianto’s request.
Sekolah Rakyat is a priority program of President Prabowo, which is targeted at children from poor and extremely poor families.
To implement the program, the Ministry of Social Affairs is synergizing with related ministries and institutions through a task force set up to cater to all the needs of the tuition-free schools.
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Translator: Anita Permata, Raka Adji
Editor: Aditya Eko Sigit Wicaksono
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