Jakarta – The Garuda School Program is one of the government’s efforts to improve the quality of national education, through a global standards-based approach that is considered capable of expanding access and encouraging improvements in the quality of learning in various regions.
Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology, Brian Yuliarto, emphasized that this program is a follow-up to President Prabowo Subianto’s directive to develop superior human resources as the foundation for national progress.
“Superior human resources are the key to successful development. Garuda School is designed as an internationally recognized educational ecosystem capable of producing future generations of leaders,” explained Brian.
He added that all students would receive full funding through state scholarships, so that access to quality education would no longer be determined by economic background, but rather by potential and achievement.
Full support also came from the Presidential Staff Office, which is overseeing the acceleration of the construction of the New Garuda Superior High School in various priority areas, including East Belitung, South Konawe, Bulungan, and South Central Timor.
Presidential Chief of Staff, M. Qodari, emphasized that monitoring is carried out periodically to ensure the program is running according to target.
“We are ensuring budget readiness and accelerated development to ensure this program runs optimally and on time,” he said.
Each school is designed as a boarding school with a capacity of around 640 students and is supported by qualified teaching staff, in order to create a competitive and globally standardized learning environment.
The success of this program’s implementation is starting to be seen in various regions, one of which is East Kalimantan.
The East Kalimantan Education and Culture Office has recorded significant improvements in the quality of education and student achievement since the implementation of the Garuda Transformation School.
The Acting Head of the East Kalimantan Education and Culture Office, Armin, said the program successfully created a positive competitive atmosphere and encouraged learning innovation, including the opening of international English-language classes.
At State Senior High School 10 Samarinda, 32 students successfully entered global universities with a total of 88 Letters of Acceptance (LoA), a drastic increase from previous years.
This success is supported by intensive mentoring, ranging from IELTS and SAT training, personal guidance, to strengthening academic abilities and soft skills.
Students are even accepted into various world-renowned universities such as the University of Toronto, Monash University, and Wageningen University.
Going forward, this program is expected to continue to be a driving force behind the transformation of Indonesian education, while also confirming that quality education is now truly capable of reaching the global level.
