People’s School Receives Thousands of Applicants, Strategic Step for Equalizing Education
Jakarta – The public’s enthusiasm for the People’s School program further proves that education is a primary need for underprivileged families. As of early May, more than 5,000 registrants have been recorded who want to join this program. The People’s School program aims to provide access to education for children as a step to break the chain of poverty.
The Minister of Social Affairs, Saifullah Yusuf (Gus Ipul) explained that to ensure this program is right on target, a strict selection mechanism has been established based on the National Socio-Economic Single Data (DTSEN).
“So extreme poor or poor but in decile one. If that no longer exists, then later in decile two. But for now it is extremely poor,” said Gus Ipul.
According to him, the public can register by directly visiting the 53 locations of the People’s School that have been prepared. In addition, the Ministry of Social Affairs also conducts outreach through social assistants in the regions.
After registration is carried out, the participants’ administrative documents will be verified, especially regarding decile status. Before undergoing a health test, the Ministry of Social Affairs team will conduct a home visit to ensure that the data in the field matches that recorded. After that, participants will undergo a health test, and only then will parents be asked to make a commitment to support their children’s education.
The program itself will start in July 2025, with 53 locations spread throughout Indonesia. In the initial stage, the People’s School will consist of 131 study groups (rombel), which will accommodate 3,275 students. The composition includes 1 rombel for elementary school level, 63 rombel for junior high school, and 67 rombel for high school. Each rombel will contain around 25 students. The Ministry of Social Affairs hopes that with this people’s school, more children from poor families will be able to continue their education to a higher level.
The Head of the General Bureau of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Salahudin Yahya, said that in addition to expanding the number of locations, intensification of rombel at points that are ready is also being carried out.
“One point can be increased from two rombel to four, for example, depending on the capacity of the building,” he said.
With this approach, it is estimated that the number of locations will increase to 100 by the end of this quarter, allowing for a student capacity of 10,000.
