Sekolah Rakyat reignites hopes of underprivileged: Deputy Minister

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Minister of Social Affairs Agus Jabo Priyono stated that the government's tuition-free school program, Sekolah Rakyat (People's School), has rekindled the hopes of underprivileged people to live a decent life and achieve their dreams.

In a discussion event in Jakarta on Saturday, he noted that several prospective students of tuition-free schools have expressed their gratitude for the program when he visited multiple locations of Sekolah Rakyat.

"The hopes rekindled when these underprivileged people had no hope left," he remarked.

He observed that the enthusiasm shown by the people is a positive sign, indicating that they are not only eager to become beneficiaries but also play an active role in developing themselves.

The deputy minister emphasized that based on the assessment conducted by his ministry and the National Integrated Socioeconomic Data (DTSEN), the Sekolah Rakyat program is currently in high demand among the poor.

In addition to the tuition-free school program for children, the government has readied various empowerment programs to support families, such as the Social Rehabilitation Assistance (Atensi) and the Family's Hope Program (PKH).

"We want to shift from passive social assistance to active social assistance in the form of interventions, such as business empowerment assistance," he remarked.

Furthermore, Priyono called for collaboration among all ministries and agencies to help realize prosperity for the people of Indonesia.

Earlier, on Friday, in Banten, Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf ensured that the tuition-free schools program will be piloted in 100 locations in 2025 as part of an initiative to end poverty.

He noted that the construction of these schools will be carried out in stages. Currently, renovations are underway for 65 buildings that will serve as temporary locations for the program.

The minister remarked that 35 additional locations have been proposed for the program so far, bringing the total number of pilot sites to 100.