"Out of the total 166 Sekolah Rakyat across Indonesia, East Java ranks first with 26 schools. This figure reflects our province’s strong commitment to supporting President Prabowo Subianto’s key initiative," she noted in a statement received in Surabaya, East Java, on Tuesday.
Parawansa made the statement after President Prabowo symbolically inaugurated 166 Sekolah Rakyat nationwide and launched the construction of 104 permanent dedicated Sekolah Rakyat buildings in Banjarbaru, South Kalimantan, on Monday (Jan 12).
"The Sekolah Rakyat program serves as a strategic step toward breaking the chain of poverty through education," she said, noting that the program has enrolled 2,450 children from underprivileged families in East Java.
The governor added that her administration is working to propose establishing Sekolah Rakyat at eight more locations in East Java to further expand access to education for families categorized as poor and extremely poor.
She assured the public of the program’s accuracy, stressing the use of the National Integrated Socio-Economic Data (DTSEN) as the sole reference in admitting pupils.
East Java delegated 14 of its best Sekolah Rakyat students to join thousands of fellow pupils at Monday’s event, held at the Center for Social Welfare Education and Training, which currently hosts a Sekolah Rakyat.
At the event, President Prabowo inaugurated the operations of Sekolah Rakyat in 131 districts and cities across 34 provinces. He also announced the government’s target of establishing such schools at 500 locations by 2029.
"I would like to thank all ministries, agencies, district heads, mayors, and provinces for working hard to support this program as a bold breakthrough," he said.
Meanwhile, Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf described the Sekolah Rakyat program as the president’s innovative effort to use education to fight poverty. He reported that the program currently involves 14,822 pupils, 2,218 teachers, and 4,889 education staff members.
He also extended appreciation to Governor Khofifah for directly monitoring the program’s implementation in East Java.
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Translator: Willi I, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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