English Drama Performance Enlivens Open House at Lombok's 'Sekolah Rakyat'

Applause filled the hall as students performed at the open house of Sekolah Rakyat Menengah Pertama (SRMP) 18 West Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, yesterday. Students from SRMP 18 West Lombok, SRD 3 East Lombok, SRD 4 West Lombok, and SRMA 38 East Lombok performed confidently before Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf (Gus Ipul). They presented yells, traditional dances, formation marching, pencak silat, speeches in Arabic, English, and Japanese, as well as a choir and poetry. Several students also performed a micro-drama titled ‘Putri Mandalika’ using English dialogue and attractive costumes. “Long ago, in Lombok, there lived a beautiful and wise princess named Mandalika,” the drama’s narrator said in a statement on Saturday (11/7/2026). The students’ performance made Gus Ipul, parents, and prospective students proud. This proves that at Sekolah Rakyat, students not only learn general knowledge but also receive character building and skills training. “Alhamdulillah, after one year of learning, my children now appear more confident, enthusiastic, and optimistic about achieving their dreams, and I also see, Alhamdulillah, some have already achieved accomplishments,” he said. Gus Ipul explained that Sekolah Rakyat does not open registration but instead conducts outreach based on the National Socio-Economic Single Data (DTSEN). “Sekolah Rakyat reaches out to families who have been less fortunate, families who have not been included in the development process, families in the first decile (DTSEN). The first decile refers to families at the lowest socio-economic level,” he explained. He mentioned that President Prabowo Subianto pays great attention to families who are not yet prosperous, one of the ways being through the construction of Sekolah Rakyat. “Therefore, my children, these prospective students, make the most of this opportunity, use this opportunity to achieve your dreams, as a gift from President Prabowo,” said Gus Ipul. Gus Ipul also urged school principals, teachers, guardians, dormitory supervisors, and education staff to be earnest in carrying out their duties. He hopes there will be no irregularities in the implementation of Sekolah Rakyat. “So that the purpose of organising Sekolah Rakyat can truly be realised, which is to produce resilient children, smart children, children with character, and children with skills,” he said. After watching the student performances, parents of prospective students appeared confident about sending their children to Sekolah Rakyat. One of them was Jannah, the mother of M. Faturrohman, a prospective student at SRMP 18 West Lombok. Jannah expressed the difficulty of sending her child to school. In fact, meeting daily needs alone is insufficient, considering her husband’s income from fishing is uncertain. However, the presence of Sekolah Rakyat gives Jannah hope to send her child to school for free in a quality environment. “And I am very grateful to President Prabowo, because with this school, our child can get a proper education and achieve his dreams,” said Jannah. Jannah is one of thousands of parents benefiting from Sekolah Rakyat. Going forward, the number of students will continue to grow following the construction of permanent Sekolah Rakyat buildings, which are targeted for completion this month. For information, there are five pilot Sekolah Rakyat locations currently operating in West Nusa Tenggara: two in East Lombok Regency, two in West Lombok Regency, and one in Sumbawa Regency. The event was also attended by the Director General of Social Rehabilitation at the Ministry of Social Affairs, Supomo; the Special Staff to the Minister of Social Affairs for Communication and Mass Media, Fatkhurohman Taufik; the Head of Sentra Paramita Mataram, Arif Rohman; Sekolah Rakyat principals; social pillars; and other relevant officials.