Refining the 'Sekolah Rakyat' Program for Equitable Education

JurnalPost.com - President Prabowo Subianto's visit to Sekolah Rakyat Menengah Pertama (SRMP) 17 in Tabanan, Bali, on June 7, 2026, was a moving occasion. Students welcomed the President with great enthusiasm. Several expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to attend school, receive educational facilities and meals, and for the hope of a better future.

During the visit, the President encouraged the students to study diligently, respect their teachers, and not give up easily when facing adversity.

Moments like these are certainly worth appreciating. For children from underprivileged families, the opportunity to receive free education can be a pathway to changing their future.

However, behind this hopeful atmosphere, there are issues that cannot be ignored. A child's resilience in the face of economic limitations should not be an excuse for the state to reduce its responsibility in providing equitable education.

Education is not just about a child's willingness to learn, but also about the state's ability to ensure that every child has an equal opportunity to receive an education.

Although it has not been operating for long, the Sekolah Rakyat program has already benefited thousands of children. Nevertheless, an important question remains: is this program reaching those who need it most in the right way?

In my view, Sekolah Rakyat is a well-intentioned program that still requires refinement. The program should not be discontinued but rather restructured to reach more children from low-income families through more effective budget utilization.

Good Intentions That Have Not Addressed All Issues

Sekolah Rakyat began operating in stages on July 14, 2025. Subsequently, on January 12, 2026, President Prabowo inaugurated the operations of 166 Sekolah Rakyat schools spread across various regions in Indonesia.

According to the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education in April 2026, the program has reached nearly 15,000 students across 166 locations in 36 provinces.

The government also targets the construction of 500 Sekolah Rakyat schools by 2029. With a planned capacity of approximately 1,000 students per school, the program is expected to accommodate up to 500,000 students.

Conceptually, Sekolah Rakyat has a very positive goal. This boarding school program provides opportunities for children from poor and extremely poor families to receive free education, including various facilities to support their daily needs.

However, the challenges of national education have a much broader scope.

Data from the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education as of April 1, 2026, recorded approximately 3.97 million out-of-school children in Indonesia. This figure includes children who have never attended school, those who dropped out, and graduates who did not continue their education.

If compared simply, the target capacity of 500,000 students for Sekolah Rakyat by 2029 is only about one-eighth of the number of out-of-school children recorded in April 2026.

This comparison cannot be used to directly measure the program's success because the Sekolah Rakyat target and the number of out-of-school children have different scopes and timeframes.

However, these figures indicate that Sekolah Rakyat cannot be the sole solution for addressing the issue of out-of-school children in Indonesia.

To me, the issue is not the number of schools successfully built, but how much of a change is truly felt by the children who have struggled to obtain an education.

The government must ensure that the construction of Sekolah Rakyat goes hand-in-hand with strengthening regular schools, educational assistance, and existing programs for handling school dropouts.

When Children in Need Are Unaware of the Program

One of the issues I am most concerned about is the possibility that many low-income families are still unaware of the existence of Sekolah Rakyat.

I read the story of a mother in Makassar named Ina, who has a daughter who dropped out of school due to economic hardship.

Ina admitted she did not know about the Sekolah Rakyat program because she rarely uses a mobile phone and does not follow the news.

This story highlights a problem that often escapes attention.

Information regarding educational assistance programs may have been widely disseminated through social media, television, and various official channels. However, not all members of the public have equal access to this information.

For families with economic limitations, access to the internet and communication devices is not always a top priority.

Therefore, it is not enough for the government to rely solely on announcements and socialization through digital media.

Social workers, village and sub-district officials, neighborhood heads (RT/RW), and schools need to be actively involved in reaching out to families who are truly in need.

Minister of Social Affairs Saifullah Yusuf previously explained that enrollment for Sekolah Rakyat is conducted through direct outreach based on data on poor and extremely poor families.

In my opinion, this approach needs to be strengthened until it truly reaches families who have historically had difficulty obtaining information.

In South Sulawesi, the Social Agency mentioned that public enthusiasm for Sekolah Rakyat is quite high. However, some prospective participants did not meet the requirements because they were not part of the program's target group.

Requirements are certainly necessary to ensure the aid is well-targeted. However, the government must also ensure that the data collection process is accurate and can be corrected if families are found who are actually in need but have not been properly recorded.

We must not let the children who need education the most get left behind because their families are unaware of the program or face administrative hurdles.

Transparency regarding admission criteria, verification processes, and priority determination is also important, given that the number of available spots is still limited.

Not All Families Are Suited for a Boarding System

Another issue that needs attention is the implementation of the boarding school system.

Sekolah Rakyat uses a boarding concept to provide a learning environment integrated with the fulfillment of students' basic needs.

This system certainly has its advantages. Children can learn in a structured environment, receive guidance, and obtain facilities they might otherwise struggle to access at home.

However, in my view, not all families have conditions and needs that align with this system.

There are parents who still find it difficult to be separated from their children, especially at the elementary school age. There are also families who consider emotional closeness, the child's health condition, and the need for support at home.

These conditions were evident during the implementation of Sekolah Rakyat admissions in several regions. Some parents were reported to be unprepared to let their elementary-aged children live in a dormitory, resulting in enrollment quotas not being fully met.

This shows that educational barriers are not always related to school fees.

Family factors, social conditions, distance, employment, and the child's psychological readiness can also influence the decision to continue education.

In my opinion, resistance to the boarding system should not be immediately interpreted as a rejection of free education.

The government needs to understand the reasons behind these decisions.

For children who need protection and a more stable learning environment, the boarding system may be the right choice.

However, for children who can still attend school near their homes, support in the form of transportation costs, learning supplies, and other educational assistance might be more appropriate.

Therefore, educational equity should not just offer one form of service for all families.

Every child has different circumstances, so education policy also needs to provide room for those needs.

Large Budgets Must Be Followed by Broader Benefits

The discussion regarding Sekolah Rakyat cannot be separated from the issue of the budget.

In the 2026 education budget allocation, the government provided IDR 24.9 trillion for the Sekolah Rakyat program.

Of that amount, IDR 20 trillion was allocated for facility construction in 200 locations, while IDR 4.9 trillion was earmarked for operational needs.

For comparison, the government also allocated IDR 64.3 trillion for the School Operational Assistance (BOS) fund, which is intended for approximately 53.6 million students in Indonesia.

This comparison shows a difference in budget scale and the number of beneficiaries, even though both programs have different goals, funding types, and needs.

The large allocation for the physical construction of Sekolah Rakyat raises questions regarding the efficiency and priority of education budget usage.

National Coordinator of the Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPI), Ubaid Matraji, is among those who have criticized the high construction costs of the program. He believes that excessive spending on infrastructure risks becoming wasteful if it is not commensurate with the benefits received by children from poor families.

This criticism deserves to be a subject of evaluation.

In my view, building new facilities is indeed necessary in areas that lack adequate educational infrastructure. However, must all regions use the same approach?

What if part of the budget were used to improve existing schools, provide transportation for children in remote areas, or provide direct assistance to families struggling to afford education?

These questions are important because the success of education policy should not be measured solely by the construction of physical facilities.

Good buildings can indeed support learning, but the existence of a building alone does not guarantee that all children will have access to education.

I also do not agree with using criticism of the budget as an immediate reason to shut down Sekolah Rakyat.

A program that provides tangible benefits to children from underprivileged families still needs to be supported.

However, that support must be accompanied by oversight of budget usage, evaluation of learning outcomes, and transparency regarding the program's implementation.

Sekolah Rakyat Needs to Be Restructured, Not Discontinued

In my opinion, the most appropriate step is not to stop Sekolah Rakyat, but to improve the way the program is run.

Restructuring can begin by utilizing school buildings that are no longer in use, government buildings that are still suitable, or other educational facilities that can be used through cooperation in accordance with regulations.

Existing buildings can be inspected and adapted to educational needs, including dormitory facilities if they are truly necessary.

Meanwhile, the construction of new buildings should be prioritized for areas that truly suffer from a shortage of educational facilities.

In regions that already have schools with sufficient capacity, the government can consider other forms of assistance.

For example, transportation subsidies for children living far from school, the provision of learning supplies, educational cost assistance, and guidance for children at risk of dropping out.

With such an approach, the education budget would not only focus on building facilities but also address the real problems that make it difficult for children to attend school.

Furthermore, coordination between Sekolah Rakyat and the existing national education system must be continuously strengthened.

Sekolah Rakyat should be part of an effort toward educational equity that complements public schools, private schools, non-formal education, and other educational assistance programs.

The government also needs to ensure that children who do not meet the criteria for Sekolah Rakyat still receive guidance to access available educational options.

We must not let a child lose the opportunity to attend school just because they did not pass the selection process for one program.

Educational Equity Is More Than Just Building Schools

Ultimately, the existence of Sekolah Rakyat shows that the government is striving to open educational opportunities for children from underprivileged families.

This program has provided hope for many families who previously faced limitations in financing their children's education.

However, good intentions alone are not enough to ensure a policy is fair and effective.

Education programs must be continuously evaluated based on community needs, targeting accuracy, service quality, and the sustainability of the benefits provided.

In my view, Sekolah Rakyat does not need to be discontinued just because it still has various shortcomings. Instead, those shortcomings should be the basis for making improvements.

The government needs to be more active in reaching out to poor families who are unaware of the program, improving data collection accuracy, considering family needs regarding the boarding system, and ensuring that budget usage is efficient.

Because educational equity is not just a matter of building more schools or providing facilities that look grand.

Educational equity means ensuring that no child loses the opportunity to learn just because their family is poor, they live in a remote area, or they lack access to information.

Sekolah Rakyat may be one path toward educational equity, but we must not let the construction of schools become the primary goal while the children who need it most are still left behind.

For me, the success of this program will only be truly visible when more children from underprivileged families can obtain a decent education, not just when more Sekolah Rakyat buildings have been successfully constructed.