Biyanto, the ministry's expert staff member for regulations and inter-agency relations, noted that in addition to carrying out monitoring, the team is also tasked with the early detection of child labor among out-of-school children.
"The Directorate of Non-Formal Education and Informal Education is currently preparing the Education Volunteer. This year, we started drafting the regulation," he said in a meeting with the Legislation Body of the House of Representatives (DPR) in Jakarta on Wednesday.
He expressed hope that the volunteers would be able to encourage out-of-school children who are already working, including those working as domestic workers, to join formal or non-formal education programs to enhance their skills.
Based on the ministry's Basic Education Data, as of November 30, 2024, the highest number of school dropouts was recorded at the elementary school level, totaling 38,540, followed by the junior high school level, with a total of 12,210 students.
Furthermore, for the senior high school and vocational high school levels, the numbers stood at 6,716 and 9,391, respectively.
As part of efforts to help out-of-school children–especially those from poor families– continue their education, the Indonesian government has initiated the free school program, Sekolah Rakyat (People's Schools).
Since the program's nationwide launch on July 14, the number of operational Sekolah Rakyat schools has reached 100 by August. The government has set a target to have 65 additional free schools operating in September, bringing the total number of operating schools to 165.
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Translator: Hana Dewi, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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