Expert: Photography an effective medium to showcase the humanist side of Sekolah Rakyat

An education policy expert from the Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia (UIII), Dr Alpha Amirachman, has assessed that photography is an effective medium for conveying the message and humanist side of the Sekolah Rakyat programme to the wider public. Speaking at a seminar at Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) in Jakarta on Thursday, Alpha stated that photography can evoke public empathy more directly than merely presenting statistical data or official ceremonial documentation. “Through a human interest photographic approach, the public can directly understand the challenges and real benefits of Sekolah Rakyat without needing lengthy explanations,” he said. The photography exhibition and seminar were a collaboration between members of the Indonesian Photography Association and several Sekolah Rakyat under the Ministry of Social Affairs. A total of 74 students from 36 Sekolah Rakyat participated in the seminar and exhibition themed “Learning and Creating for the Future Through Sekolah Rakyat, Inclusive and Equitable Education”. Alpha explained that the photo exhibition, featuring works by senior photojournalists and students, successfully captured authentic expressions of joy, equality, and the life dynamics of students in Sekolah Rakyat dormitories. This visual approach is considered aligned with the core idea of Sekolah Rakyat, which aims to embrace and uplift children from underprivileged families who are vulnerable to dropping out of school. According to him, the photographic works can record the process of character building, discipline, and the spirit of togetherness fostered within the boarding school system. “Sekolah Rakyat is a government breakthrough to reach the invisible, those who are unseen. Their numbers are quite large, especially at the high school age level, who are forced to drop out due to economic constraints and family burdens,” he said. He noted that this breakthrough is urgent given the high number of school dropouts in Indonesia, with data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recording nearly 3 million children not optimally reached by the formal education system. He therefore appreciated the photography exhibition collaboration as an effective public education tool to showcase the positive impact of the current national education policy breakthrough.