Deputy Social Affairs Minister Receives Teluk Wondama DPRD to Discuss Acceleration of 'Sekolah Rakyat'

Deputy Minister of Social Affairs (Wamensos) Agus Jabo Priyono received an audience with the Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) of Teluk Wondama Regency, West Papua, to discuss optimising the use of the National Socio-Economic Single Data (DTSEN) and accelerating the construction of ‘Sekolah Rakyat’ (People’s Schools) in disadvantaged, frontier, and outermost (3T) regions. During the audience held in Jakarta on Monday, the Deputy Minister explained that proposals for the Remote Indigenous Community (KAT) programme and Sekolah Rakyat must be submitted by the local government through the regent and relevant technical agencies. “Later, you should call the regent, together with the Social Service and related agencies, to submit what the community needs there,” he said. Agus Jabo explained that all social interventions must now be based on DTSEN. This data serves as the foundation for central and local governments in formulating poverty alleviation programmes, including social assistance, Health Insurance Contribution Assistance Beneficiaries (PBI-JK), Sekolah Rakyat, empowerment, and KAT. He elaborated that the Ministry of Social Affairs has been mandated to assist with updating DTSEN. For the Family Hope Programme (PKH) and Non-Cash Food Assistance (BPNT) social aid, updates are conducted every three months, while for PBI-JK, updates are done monthly due to the more dynamic nature of the data. During the audience, the Deputy Minister also highlighted that the PBI-JK quota in Teluk Wondama could still be optimised, with a remaining quota of approximately 15,000 participants that could potentially be utilised through DTSEN updates. “If the quota is still available, please propose it. This can reduce the burden on the regional budget (APBD). Please convey this to the regent and the Social Service so it can be managed,” he said. Furthermore, Agus Jabo requested the Teluk Wondama DPRD to encourage the acceleration of Sekolah Rakyat proposals. According to him, Papua and West Papua still require more Sekolah Rakyat locations because the region is vast and many children from poor families still lack access to education. “The land must be 6.8 hectares, and the certificate must be owned by the district or provincial government. It cannot be owned by indigenous communities or individuals. If it is owned by an indigenous community, it must be granted first and the administration processed,” he stated. The audience also discussed a proposed Remote Indigenous Community (KAT) programme for Teluk Wondama, which has been followed up through a Ministry of Social Affairs assessment in two villages, namely Kampung Sewar and Yopmeos. The programme is planned for 75 beneficiary families and is being prepared for implementation in 2027.