{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1861945,
        "msgid": "bantens-free-school-programme-eases-burden-on-daily-labourers-1784130726",
        "date": "2026-07-15 21:31:24",
        "title": "Banten's Free School Programme Eases Burden on Daily Labourers",
        "author": "",
        "source": "DETIK",
        "tags": "",
        "topic": "Social Policy",
        "summary": "The Banten Provincial Government's Free School Programme has enabled the children of daily labourers, such as Sarbini from Baros District, to continue their education without the constant worry of tuition fees. The initiative, which covered over 60,000 verified students across 801 private schools in the 2025-2026 academic year, has been praised for providing significant financial relief to low-income families. Sarbini expressed his hope that the programme will continue and eventually extend to higher education, allowing his son Nabil to pursue a better future.",
        "content": "<p>A daily labourer named Sarbini (47) has expressed his gratitude that\nhis son Nabil can continue his education thanks to the Banten Provincial\nGovernment\u2019s Free School Programme. Before the programme existed,\nSarbini was constantly haunted by the cost of schooling whenever a new\nacademic year approached. As a casual labourer from Sindang Mandi\nVillage, Baros District, Serang Regency, his income was never stable.\n\u201cThe most important thing is that my child can go to school,\u201d Sarbini\nsaid in a written statement on Wednesday (15\/7\/2026). Sometimes he works\nas a construction worker, and at other times he gets calls to repair\nresidents\u2019 electrical installations. However, it is not uncommon for him\nto be unemployed for weeks or even months. That anxiety has now slowly\ndisappeared after his son, Nabil Ilham Maulana (15), was accepted at SMK\nNurul Huda Baros through the Banten Provincial Government\u2019s Free School\nProgramme for the 2026-2027 academic year. For Sarbini, the programme\ndoes not merely eliminate the obligation to pay tuition fees; it\nrepresents hope for his family to ensure their children\u2019s education.\nSince the programme was implemented, tens of thousands of students have\nbeen able to continue their education to the upper secondary level. In\nthe previous 2025-2026 academic year, the Free School Programme reached\n801 private schools with a total of 60,705 verified students\nparticipating. \u201cBefore the Free School Programme, I felt burdened. I\nhave three children. The eldest is in vocational school, the second in\njunior high, and the youngest in primary school. With this programme,\nthank God, I am relieved and greatly helped. Now I only have to think\nabout stationery needs,\u201d he said. He admitted that education costs were\nthe burden he thought about most often, as his irregular income as a\ncasual daily labourer made it difficult to plan. \u201cMy work is not\navailable every day. Sometimes I work for a week, then I can be\nunemployed for up to three months. So the money that was previously used\nto pay tuition fees can now be saved for the children\u2019s future\neducational needs,\u201d he explained. His economic situation had caused him\nconsiderable worry when his son decided to continue his education at a\nprivate school. On one hand, he wanted to support his son\u2019s aspirations,\nbut on the other, he did not know how he would pay the fees. \u201cYes, I was\nworried. I kept thinking about how to pay. My work is odd jobs,\nsometimes a handyman, sometimes a welder. Anything as long as it\u2019s\nlawful,\u201d he said. Despite this, Sarbini never discouraged his son\u2019s\nwishes. Nabil had long dreamed of studying at SMK Nurul Huda Baros, a\ndecision he made even before the free school programme existed. \u201cHe\nwanted to go to school here from the start. I didn\u2019t force him; I\nsupport my child\u2019s choice,\u201d he said. Nabil is now enrolled as a\ntenth-grade student in the Electrical Engineering Department at SMK\nNurul Huda Baros. Sarbini hopes that education will be a path for his\nson to achieve a better life than his own. He constantly reminds Nabil\nto study diligently and avoid negative influences that could ruin his\nfuture. \u201cI always tell him, earning money is hard. Study properly, don\u2019t\nget involved in brawls or bad company. I experienced a misguided youth,\nand I don\u2019t want my child to repeat it,\u201d he said. Sarbini also expressed\nhis thanks to Banten Governor Andra Soni and Deputy Governor Achmad\nDimyati Natakusumah for the Free School Programme, which has\nsignificantly eased the burden on low-income communities. \u201cI am very\ngrateful to Mr Andra Soni and Mr Dimyati. Without this programme, I\nwould still be anxious because my work as a casual daily labourer is\nunpredictable, sometimes there is work, but more often I am unemployed,\u201d\nhe said. He hopes the programme will continue so that more families in\nsimilar economic conditions can benefit. He even dreams that such\nassistance will one day reach the tertiary education level. \u201cI hope this\nprogramme continues. I would be even more grateful if there was\nassistance up to the university level. I want my child to get the\nhighest education possible, to be better than his parents,\u201d he\nconcluded.<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bantens-free-school-programme-eases-burden-on-daily-labourers-1784130726",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}