In classical geopolitical literature, a nation\u2019s sovereignty is\nmeasured by the extent to which its power reaches its outermost\nterritories. It is not merely about coloured maps or flags planted on\nremote islands, but a deeper question: do the citizens living at the\nedge of the country truly feel the presence of the state? By this\nmetric, a school standing tall on the border with a leak-free roof,\ndecent classrooms, and teachers present every morning is a more tangible\nstatement of sovereignty than even a military fleet.<\/p>\n
This is the lens required to interpret the Ministry of Primary and\nSecondary Education\u2019s policy, which prioritises the construction of new\nschools in 3T (frontier, outermost, and disadvantaged) areas. When the\nMinister of Primary and Secondary Education, Abdul Mu\u2019ti, stated in\nManokwari on 28 May 202le that every school construction proposal from\n3T regions would be prioritised, he was not merely speaking in\npedagogical terms, but in geopolitical language. He was describing how a\nstate asserts its presence not through weapons, but through school\ndesks.<\/p>\n
Historically, discourse regarding Indonesia\u2019s border regions has been\ndominated by defence and security perspectives\u2014military posts, naval\npatrols, and island guarding. While vital, there is a more decisive\nlong-term dimension: the dimension of loyalty born from a sense of\nbelonging. History teaches us that border regions neglected by their\nnation are vulnerable, not just militarily, but psychologically and\nculturally. Citizens who never experience the state through meaningful\nforms, such as proper schools or functioning health facilities, may\ndevelop transactional relationships with the state, or worse, view the\nstate as a foreign entity that only arrives to take rather than to\ngive.<\/p>\n
This reality is not mere speculation. Various separatist conflicts\nglobally have roots in the absence of the state in the daily lives of\nperipheral citizens. A state that only appears for strategic interests\nand disappears during normal life is a state accumulating seeds of\ndistrust. For instance, SMP Negeri 1 Towe in the Papua border region\nreceived over Rp2.6 billion in revitalisation aid for laboratories,\nclassrooms, teacher housing, and sanitation. The principal, Laurensius\nWiku, described this as a long-term investment in the future of Papua\u2019s\ngeneration, noting that a proper school changes how a child perceives\ntheir relationship with the nation.<\/p>\n
Reading this policy through a geopolitical lens means viewing budget\nstatistics as indicators of how seriously the state is maintaining its\nintegrity. Throughout 2025, revitalisation programmes reached 14,072\neducational units, from early childhood to high school, with 949 located\nin eastern Indonesia and 3T areas. For 2026, the government targets the\nrevitalisation of 71,744 educational units with a state budget\nallocation of Rp14 trillion, focusing on 3T areas, disaster-affected\nschools, and those with heavy damage.<\/p>\n
In a geopolitical context, each revitalised school in a 3T area\nrepresents a strengthened point of state presence. Every classroom built\non the border is a space where national identity is formed and lived. As\ngeopolitical thinker Karl Deutsch noted, national cohesion is built not\nby military force alone, but by networks of communication, public\nservices, and shared experiences. Schools in border regions serve as\nfundamental infrastructure for national cohesion. Furthermore, the\nquality of public services in these areas serves as a silent comparison\nwith neighbouring countries like Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, and\nTimor-Leste. When citizens see better facilities across the border, it\ncan weaken the affective ties to their own nation; conversely, when\nIndonesia provides adequate schools, it reinforces the bond between the\ncitizen and the state.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/schools-are-fortresses-reading-3t-policy-as-a-sovereignty-strategy-1780908640", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }