Tapanuli – The Government of North Sumatra Province has prepared a free schooling program for students in areas affected by floods and landslides, as part of efforts to accelerate the recovery of the education sector after the disaster. The policy was announced by North Sumatra Governor Bobby Nasution and will take effect starting in the 2026/2027 academic year for senior high schools/vocational schools (SMA/SMK) through special needs schools (Sekolah Luar Biasa/SLB).
Bobby emphasized that the initiative represents the government’s commitment to ensuring that the right to education is not disrupted by disasters. He explained that the program will be implemented at the start of the new academic year to avoid disparities among students who have already paid school fees for the current year.
“This free schooling program will begin this year, in the new academic year (2026/2027). We cannot start it now, because it would be unfair—some students have already paid school fees at the beginning of the current academic year. Therefore, starting from the new academic year in July, there should be no more fees charged,” he said.
The North Sumatra Provincial Government has allocated Rp22 billion for the implementation of free schooling in disaster-affected areas. Head of the North Sumatra Education Office, Alexander Sinulingga, said the funds will be distributed to five regencies/cities that suffered the most severe damage from floods and landslides: North Tapanuli, Central Tapanuli, South Tapanuli, the City of Sibolga, and Langkat Regency.
“In the five disaster-affected regencies/cities, the program will target 51,000 students with a total budget of Rp22 billion,” Alexander said.
He added that the free schooling scheme is essentially part of the Free Education Flagship Program (Program Unggulan Bersekolah Gratis/PUBG), which has previously been prioritized for the Nias Islands region. However, given the impact of disasters in parts of North Sumatra, the government has introduced additional interventions to ensure faster and more equitable education recovery.
“So in the new academic year, PUBG will be implemented not only in the five regencies/cities mentioned earlier, but also in the Nias Islands. For Nias, Rp21 billion has been allocated for 41,000 students,” Alexander explained.
As a result, the total budget allocated for the free schooling program in the 2026/2027 academic year reaches Rp43 billion. The funds will be transferred directly to school accounts, with technical guidelines to be regulated through a Governor’s Regulation.
“The scheme is currently being finalized through a Governor’s Regulation, and all funds will be transferred directly to each school’s account,” Alexander said.
The program is expected to ease the economic burden on disaster-affected communities while ensuring the continuity of education for tens of thousands of students across North Sumatra.