34,000 Schools Involved in Adiwiyata Programme

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) is supporting the development of environmental culture and concern for conservation from an early age, with 34,000 schools across Indonesia involved in the Adiwiyata programme.

Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Atip Latipulhayat said the number would continue to grow until the programme reached every school in Indonesia, citing its positive impact. According to the ministry’s data portal, as of 16 August 2026 there were 555,684 active educational institutions in the country.

“Habits developed at school are carried by pupils into their homes, their neighbourhoods and, in time, their workplaces,” he said at the “Ecological Repentance Towards Adiwiyata Schools” event at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII) in Jakarta on Monday.

Adiwiyata is a national programme launched in 2006 by the Ministry of Environment to encourage Indonesian schools to foster environmentally conscious communities and a culture of environmental stewardship.

The programme has four main components: school policies that support environmental conservation; an environment-based curriculum integrated into intra-curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities; the promotion of active participation by the school community; and environmentally friendly facilities management.

“These pillars include incorporating faith and devotion to the environment into graduate competency standards,” he said.

He added that a deep-learning approach was also being used to help pupils learn directly from real-life issues around them, such as examining waste in school canteens, water use and the maintenance of school gardens.

Character-building habits are also being reinforced through the “Seven Habits of Great Indonesian Children Movement”, alongside efforts to create schools that are safe, healthy, tidy and beautiful through the “ASRI Movement”.

Facilities and infrastructure are another key focus of the education unit revitalisation programme, which prioritises providing proper, clean toilets in regions across the country.

“School toilets are a reflection of civilisation. Good sanitation is the first aspect of Adiwiyata and also a basic right of every pupil,” he said.

He urged regional leaders to intensify the ecological repentance movement through the environmentally cultured schools programme to help secure a sustainable future for the planet.