By: Fitra Rizal*
President Prabowo Subianto delivered his first state address since being inaugurated as Head of State at the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR/DPR) session on Friday, August 15, 2025. From behind the podium, he delivered the news long awaited by millions of poor families: one hundred People’s Schools had been established in the 299 days of his administration.
This step is not merely an administrative achievement. The presence of People’s Schools symbolizes the state’s presence among the most vulnerable families, providing real solutions. Prabowo emphasized that People’s Schools are designed not only to provide access to learning but also to create a decent environment for growth and development.
Every student has the right to a mattress, blanket, desk, and personal computer. The message conveyed was clear: children from poor families deserve the opportunity to receive a dignified education.
The government’s target reflects a bold ambition. Next year, the number of People’s Schools will be doubled to two hundred, then increased to three hundred in the next two years.
The scale of this expansion demonstrates the determination to make education a social ladder, ensuring that children from poor households are no longer trapped in the cycle of poverty passed down across generations.
The student admission system is also rigorous. They are selected using the National Socioeconomic Single Data (DTSEN), which includes community groups in deciles 1 and 2, namely extremely poor and poor households.
This means that the People’s School is truly aimed at the 20 percent of Indonesians with the most economic hardship. Through data-based selection, the program ensures accurate targeting, so that its benefits directly reach those in need.
The President emphasized that the People’s School is not just a building construction project, but a social transformation project. Students receive formal education in boarding schools, while their families are supported through renovations of uninhabitable homes and social assistance.
After graduating, they are expected to graduate from the clutches of poverty. This perspective demonstrates that education is not merely an academic process, but an instrument of socio-economic liberation.
The program’s foundation is constitutionally sound. The implementation of the People’s School is part of the fourth Asta Cita (Asta Cita), making education the key to social liberation. The program’s foundation is Article 28C and Article 31 of the 1945 Constitution, as well as Law 20/2003 concerning the National Education System. Within this legal framework, the People’s School program is not an experiment, but rather a valid and strategic state policy.
Devie Rahmawati, a vocational researcher at the University of Indonesia, sees significant potential in this program to reduce the school dropout rate, which still stands in the millions. According to UNICEF data, children from poor households are two to three times more likely to miss school than those from the middle class.
Similarly, the Statistics Indonesia (BPS) recorded that more than 4.16 million children in Indonesia are not receiving an education. Devie believes that the People’s School program’s focus on children from deciles 1 and 2 is well-targeted, as it addresses the gap in educational access that has long been a stumbling block for poor families.
Meanwhile, Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf confirmed that the first phase of 100 People’s Schools, for elementary to high school levels, is operational, with a total of 9,700 students. By September, the government is targeting an additional 60 new schools, bringing the total number of beneficiaries to 16,000.
The Ministry of Social Affairs, along with other ministries and institutions, continues to consolidate facilities and infrastructure to ensure optimal school operations. The government has prepared facilities including classrooms, dormitories, educational equipment, and even technological support in the form of laptops.
The government has also allocated an unprecedented education budget. The 2026 State Budget mandates a budget of up to IDR 757.8 trillion, or 20 percent of total state spending, for the education sector, including funding for the People’s School program.
This figure is the largest allocation in Indonesian history. This substantial fiscal commitment demonstrates the government’s commitment to placing the education sector as a national development priority.
People’s Schools are clearly not merely a publicity project. This program truly represents a concrete answer to the long-awaited dilemma faced by millions of poor families who have been trapped for decades by the dilemma of education costs and access.
Through the boarding school design, students are no longer burdened by transportation costs or limited learning facilities at home. They are educated in a controlled environment and prepared to become a generation with relevant competencies for the future.
In the long term, People’s Schoolshas the potential to set a new direction for Indonesia’s human development. Quality education provided to children from poor families will break the chain of social inequality and increase the chances of achieving Indonesia Emas 2045.
This program is like a beacon of hope amidst waves of uncertainty. When access to quality education is guaranteed by the state, the path out of poverty is wide open. Millions of poor families no longer merely dream, but rather have confidence that their children can climb the social ladder to a more decent future.
The People’s School has answered their long wait. Now, the challenge is to maintain consistency, ensure quality, and expand reach so that every Indonesian child, without exception, truly has an equal opportunity to achieve a future. (*)
)* The author is a Public Policy Observer
