Gus Ipul Emphasises Corruption-Free Procurement for People's Schools

Surabaya (ANTARA) - Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf has emphasised that the procurement process for the construction of People’s Schools must be free from corruption and manipulation to ensure that the education programme for poor families runs transparently and in line with President Prabowo Subianto’s directives. “I have already conveyed to those responsible that there must be no lobbying, no impositions, no engineering, and no deviations in the procurement process,” said Saifullah Yusuf in Surabaya, East Java, on Sunday. Gus Ipul, as he is affectionately known, explained that the entire budget for building People’s Schools has been planned through an open procurement mechanism and official government tender process. According to him, the procurement results could ultimately be lower than the initial planned value due to the open tender system. “There will be a tender process later; I don’t fully understand the details of that tender process,” he stated. Gus Ipul affirmed that he and the Deputy Minister of Social Affairs are ready to report directly if they find any indications of project irregularities in the construction of People’s Schools. “If there are violations, if there is manipulation, if there is collusion, my Deputy Minister and I have committed to being the first to report it,” he emphasised. He stated that strict supervision is necessary because the People’s Schools programme is one of the national strategic initiatives for poverty alleviation. In addition to providing free boarding education, the government is also empowering students’ families through social assistance and skills training. “They will receive social assistance (bansos), and later they will also be encouraged to become members of the Red and White Village/Urban Village Cooperative,” he said. Gus Ipul added that families of People’s Schools students will also receive support through programmes for uninhabitable housing, participation in the National Health Insurance (JKN), and productive economic training to achieve economic independence.