He made the statement while inaugurating the operation of 166 Sekolah Rakyat across 34 provinces in Indonesia, during a ceremony at Integrated Sekolah Rakyat 9 in Banjarbaru City, South Kalimantan, on Monday.
“Today, we have successfully inaugurated 166 Sekolah Rakyat. Our target is to reach 500 by 2029,” he said at the event.
Sekolah Rakyat is a new tuition-free school program in Indonesia designed to break the cycle of poverty by providing quality education to children from poor and extremely poor families.
Prabowo noted that while significant work remains, he remains optimistic about achieving the school construction target.
Each Sekolah Rakyat is designed to accommodate up to 1,000 students. If the target of 500 schools is met, the program could serve as many as 500,000 students nationwide.
Currently, Sekolah Rakyat serves about 15,000 students, but the President said the figure is expected to double to 30,000 by the end of 2026 as more schools begin operating.
He emphasized that the initiative is not merely an educational program, but part of the government’s broader vision to eradicate poverty.
Prabowo aims to bring meaningful change to the lives of the extremely poor, particularly those in deciles 1 and 2, by the end of his term in 2029.
The inauguration of Sekolah Rakyat in 131 districts and cities—including the 3T regions (frontier, outermost, and remote areas) such as Papua, Maluku, and Nusa Tenggara—was symbolically marked by the President pressing a siren button.
“This Monday, I hereby inaugurate 166 Sekolah Rakyat in Indonesia,” he declared.
Translator: Andi Firdaus, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Aditya Eko Sigit Wicaksono
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