Speaking in Sorong, Southwest Papua, on Monday, Southwest Papua Governor Elisa Kambu said that his office has instructed the governments of one city and five districts in the province to move quickly to prepare land or sites for the development of Sekolah Rakyat.
“In principle, these schools will fall under the authority of district and municipal governments. Therefore, we have asked them to promptly prepare land,” he said, adding that the central and provincial governments will support the development of the schools.
Kambu informed that he had held a meeting with the Sorong mayor and district heads, during which all participants had expressed their readiness to advance the Sekolah Rakyat program through land provision.
However, he said that the provincial government has yet to receive documents listing proposed Sekolah Rakyat locations from local leaders.
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“We at the provincial government have received verbal reports and are now awaiting proposal documents, which we will forward to the central government. This is important to allow construction to begin immediately,” the governor informed.
He said that South Sorong district has informally proposed two prospective sites for Sekolah Rakyat, while Maybrat, Raja Ampat, Sorong, and Tambrauw have each suggested one location.
He added that the development of the Sekolah Rakyat is part of his administration’s strategy to accelerate equal access to education, which, in turn, can boost the school participation rate in Southwest Papua, especially in remote and underdeveloped areas.
School orientations for Sekolah Rakyat students were launched at 63 locations nationwide on July 14, 2025. Thirty-seven more sites will be readied by later this month to support the goal of opening 100 Sekolah Rakyat for the 2025–2026 academic year.
President Prabowo Subianto has initiated the Sekolah Rakyat program for children from families classified as poor or extremely poor based on National Socioeconomic Single Data (DTSEN).
The boarding school program aims to support the government’s poverty alleviation efforts by providing free, quality, and character and religious education at the elementary, junior high, and senior high school levels.
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Translator: Yuvensius L, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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