During his visit to a Sekolah Rakyat facility in Tabanan, Bali, today, Minister of Environment Hanif Faisol Nurofiq stated that Sekolah Rakyat not only reflects President Prabowo Subianto’s commitment to ensuring equal opportunities for children from underprivileged families.
“For us, it also serves as a strategic space to instill ecological awareness from an early age,” he mentioned.
The Tabanan branch of Sekolah Rakyat currently accommodates 73 junior high school students.
The school is part of a broader national initiative launched by President Prabowo to ensure that children from poor and extremely poor households have access to quality education.
According to Minister Nurofiq, Sekolah Rakyat offers more than just academic access; it is also envisioned to become a center for shaping the character of young generations who care about environmental sustainability.
At Sekolah Rakyat, students are trained to sort organic, inorganic, and hazardous waste as part of their environmental and character education curriculum. “The children studying here are not only future national leaders but also future guardians of the Earth,” he stated.
Nurofiq also expressed his hope that instilling waste management habits from an early age would cultivate a strong sense of responsibility for waste management, promote a clean lifestyle, and help shape a green generation committed to protecting the Earth.
He emphasized the importance of integrating environmental-based education into the broader transformation of Indonesia’s national education system.
“The climate crisis is one of the greatest challenges of this century. By instilling environmental knowledge and values from the early school years, we are preparing a generation that is not only academically capable but also resilient in safeguarding the sustainability of our nation,” Nurofiq concluded.
Officially launched on July 14 this year, the Sekolah Rakyat program is designed as a strategic effort to break the cycle of poverty through free, high-quality formal, character, and religious education in tuition-free boarding schools.
Sekolah Rakyat is integrated with other national priority initiatives, such as the Free Health Check program, Free Nutritious Meals program, Red and White Cooperatives program, and the Three Million Homes program.
The Ministry of Social Affairs has set a target of opening 165 Sekolah Rakyat sites nationwide in the 2025–2026 academic year to serve 15,895 children across elementary, junior high, and senior high schools.
These schools are projected to employ 2,407 teachers.
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Translator: Prisca Triferna, Kuntum Khaira
Editor: M Razi Rahman
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