Hardiknas 2026: Commission X Leader Sees Real Changes, Despite Heavy Challenges

JAKARTA - Deputy Chairman of Commission X of the DPR, Lalu Hadrian Irfani, assesses that there has been significant progress in the education sector during President Prabowo Subianto’s leadership, although heavy challenges remain. This was stated by Lalu in a reflection on the National Education Day (Hardiknas) commemoration, which falls on Saturday (2/5/2026). “Regarding my assessment of educational progress under the Prabowo-Gibran leadership, I can state that there has been a real direction of change, although the challenges are still very heavy,” Lalu said in his statement on Saturday. Previously, only around 17,000 schools were renovated per year, but in 2026, that number has increased to around 70,000 schools. “The government targets that by 2028, all schools in Indonesia will be fully renovated,” Lalu said. In addition to physical infrastructure, the government is also assessed to be promoting educational transformation through digitalisation, such as installing smart boards in classrooms, providing allowances for non-civil servant teachers, and launching the Sekolah Rakyat programme. This politician from the Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa highlights the ongoing disparities between urban areas and remote regions, especially in underdeveloped, frontier, and outermost (3T) areas. According to him, the large education budget has not yet fully addressed real needs on the ground, particularly regarding the distribution of educators and learning facilities. “The cost of distributing teachers and learning facilities in remote areas is more expensive than in cities, so many schools still lack educators and infrastructure,” Lalu said. Lalu emphasised that educational development cannot solely focus on physical construction. “But it must also be accompanied by superior learning quality for every child of the nation,” he stated.