Deputy Minister Urges Mandailing Natal Regent to Accelerate 'Sekolah Rakyat' Proposal
Deputy Social Affairs Minister Agus Jabo Priyono is encouraging the Mandailing Natal regency government to speed up the completion of requirements for the construction of a permanent Sekolah Rakyat. He also called for serious and continuous updating of the National Socio-Economic Single Data (DTSEN).
“I am pleased that the Regent has shown strong commitment to implementing the government programme. Please oversee it thoroughly,” Agus Jabo said in a press release on Tuesday (11/6/2026).
He made the remarks while receiving a visit from Mandailing Natal Regent Saipullah Nasution at the Ministry of Social Affairs office today.
According to him, Sekolah Rakyat is a programme that directly targets people from the lowest income groups. Therefore, the entire process needs serious oversight, from land readiness and administrative completeness to the implementation of construction.
“Sekolah Rakyat reaches the most disadvantaged communities, so it must be thoroughly supervised,” he stressed.
The Mandailing Natal regency government is currently processing the application for the construction of a Sekolah Rakyat. The application was previously hampered by land issues, prompting the local government to relocate to an alternative site deemed more ready.
Once the new location meets the requirements, the application will be processed through the Ministry of Public Works.
Agus expressed hope that all requirements can be completed soon so that Mandailing Natal Regency can be included in the phase III construction of Sekolah Rakyat, which is planned to begin in October 2026 and is targeted for completion before the 2027/2028 academic year starts.
In addition to Sekolah Rakyat, Agus also asked the Mandailing Natal regency government to continue updating the DTSEN seriously, carefully and periodically.
He explained that the DTSEN is currently one of the important bases for implementing various government programmes. The data is used as a source for distributing social assistance, providing National Health Insurance (JKN) premium assistance (PBI), and recruiting prospective Sekolah Rakyat participants.
“So this data updating must really be carried out seriously and carefully, because now this data is the basis for various government programmes,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mandailing Natal Regent Saipullah Nasution said that the local government continues to update the community’s socio-economic data. The updating is carried out to ensure that the data used by the government is increasingly accurate and in line with conditions on the ground.
“We continue to update. We also informed the public that 6,800 records were removed from social assistance due to online gambling,” Saipullah said.
Agus expressed appreciation for the efforts made by the Mandailing Natal government and stressed that data updating is not only important to ensure social assistance is given to the right people, but is also an important part of ensuring that various government interventions reach groups that truly need them.
Local governments are therefore expected to actively verify and update data and coordinate with the central government. On the other hand, accelerating the readiness of Sekolah Rakyat is expected to open better educational access for children from underprivileged families in Mandailing Natal.