1,000 Military Academy Cadets to Train Students at 'Sekolah Rakyat'

Approximately 1,000 cadets from the Military Academy (Akmil) will be involved in the student orientation period at Sekolah Rakyat (People’s Schools) for the 2026/2027 academic year. Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf stated that their involvement aims to strengthen character education and student discipline. According to Gus Ipul, as Saifullah Yusuf is familiarly known, the cadets will guide students in getting accustomed to discipline in daily life. This ranges from how to tidy their beds after waking up, maintaining personal hygiene, caring for their shoes, organising personal belongings, to wearing their uniforms neatly. “This is an extraordinary opportunity, how we can emulate and learn the good things that have been part of the educational process at the Military Academy,” he said when contacted on Friday, 26 June 2026. He explained that the orientation period at the people’s schools will last for one week, from 1 to 7 August 2026. The plan is for each people’s school to be accompanied by at least five active Akmil cadets who are still undergoing their education. This number can be adjusted according to the needs and the number of students at each school. To date, the government has prepared 166 Sekolah Rakyat that will commence the new academic year. Each school is estimated to accommodate around 300 to 400 students. Gus Ipul said the cadets deployed are active cadets. Their involvement in the people’s schools, he said, is part of the community service programme within the unit’s educational curriculum. The Secretary General of the Nahdlatul Ulama Executive Board hopes the involvement of Akmil cadets can transmit a culture of discipline to the Sekolah Rakyat students. He emphasised that instilling disciplinary habits is important from the outset so that students become accustomed to punctuality, respecting others, maintaining cleanliness, and being responsible for the items they use daily. “And we see that one of the best ways to strengthen discipline is to learn from schools within the TNI environment,” he said.