By: Zikry Ramadhan )*
Eighty-seven years after the youth declared the Youth Pledge as a symbol of unity and determination to educate the nation, the government is once again realizing that spirit through the People’s School program. The presence of these schools is a concrete manifestation of the noble ideal of bringing social justice to all Indonesians and providing equitable access to education, even to the most remote corners of the country.
The government under the leadership of President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka has positioned education as a key pillar in the national strategy to develop superior human resources towards Golden Indonesia 2045.
Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf explained that the People’s School is part of the government’s broader strategy to reduce poverty to below five percent. This program serves not only as an educational platform but also as an instrument for social equality, integrating educational services, social assistance, and economic empowerment and family health.
The government wants to make education a gateway to sustainable social change, where every child from a low-income family has the opportunity to grow and develop properly.
Furthermore, the People’s School program is designed to reach children from underprivileged families who have previously lacked access to adequate education. This school provides free boarding education that focuses not only on academic aspects but also on character development, vocational skills, and the instillation of national values. Through this concept, education is no longer simply a place for learning but also becomes the foundation for social and economic empowerment.
The Secretary General of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Robben Rico, emphasized that the People’s Schools (Sekolah Rakyat) are a manifestation of the state’s support for community groups that have been largely excluded from educational opportunities. He believes this program stems from the realization that education is a path to restoring dignity to the poor, enabling them to access knowledge, build dreams, and foster self-confidence.
The principle held in the implementation of the People’s School is the trilogy of partisanship—honoring the less fortunate, reaching the unreached, and empowering those who have been at the lowest level.
The government is targeting the construction of 200 People’s Schools annually, ensuring that every district and city in Indonesia will have at least one within the next five years. This program is also aimed at becoming a model of education that instills the values of independence and social solidarity. Through this initiative, the government hopes that Indonesian children will regain their aspirations and believe that their future can be achieved through education.
Support for this program also came from young people. Raden Umar, Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian National Youth Committee (KNPI), expressed his appreciation for the achievements of President Prabowo and Vice President Gibran’s first year in office, which he considered successful in strengthening the foundations of national prosperity and intelligence through people-centered education policies.
According to him, the People’s School demonstrates the government’s real commitment to small communities and underdeveloped areas, and revives the spirit of mutual cooperation in developing human resources from the grassroots.
Umar believes that this program not only expands access to primary and secondary education, but also presents a new paradigm that integrates educational aspects with local economic empowerment.
Umar even encouraged the success of the People’s Schools to be continued with the establishment of People’s Universities at the regional level. These village-based universities were expected to accommodate People’s School alumni to continue their higher education without having to leave their hometowns, while also producing village graduates who would return to serve their communities.
Furthermore, Umar highlighted the importance of strengthening the national scholarship scheme to make it more inclusive and accessible, especially for children from farming, fishing, and laboring families. He noted that gaps remain in the scholarship selection system, which is often not adaptive to regional conditions. Therefore, he urged the government to expand access to scholarships based on regional potential, with a simple system that favors the poor.
For Umar, the success of the Prabowo-Gibran administration is reflected not only in physical development and defense strengthening, but also in a humanitarian vision that places education as a means of building an independent and character-based nation. He believes that the direction of human development policies under President Prabowo’s leadership is now more solid, supported by synergy across ministries, the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), the Indonesian National Police (Polri), and civil society.
The People’s School Program ultimately became a symbol of the actualization of the ideals of the Youth Pledge in the modern era: the spirit of educating the nation, uniting diversity, and upholding social justice. The government focused not only on infrastructure development but also on building the foundations of civilization through liberating education.
With the presence of People’s Schools in all corners of the country, the noble ideals of the youth of 1928 to build a sovereign and just nation have now found their concrete form.
