Jakarta Governor Pledges to Find Additional Land to Support 'Sekolah Rakyat' Programme

Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung has expressed his full readiness to support the development of Sekolah Rakyat (People’s Schools) and is prepared to help find additional land for the programme. He made the statement during an open house event at Sekolah Rakyat Menengah Atas 10 in South Jakarta on Friday (3/7), which was attended by parents and prospective students. Pramono was responding to Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf’s explanation that Jakarta needs to accelerate the expansion of Sekolah Rakyat capacity to accommodate 1,000 students. The acceleration is necessary because, to date, Jakarta only has one permanent Sekolah Rakyat. “I certainly welcome this, as the Governor wishes to fulfil the President’s hope that DKI Jakarta specifically will have additional pilot schools capable of accommodating no fewer than one thousand Sekolah Rakyat students in Jakarta,” said Gus Ipul. He explained that the Ministry of Social Affairs is providing 10 pilot school sites to house 1,000 students, with eight of them currently undergoing renovation. One is located in a building owned by the National Institute of Public Administration (LAN) in Pejompongan, with others in Marunda and Curug. “We will thoroughly prepare locations that might be used for Sekolah Rakyat with a thousand students,” Pramono stated. The Governor’s arrival at 4.30 p.m. Western Indonesian Time was greeted with various performances by Sekolah Rakyat students, including chants and formation drills, the Betawi ‘Gadis Bersolek’ dance, karate, trilingual speeches in Mandarin, Arabic, and English, as well as a choir and poetry recital. Witnessing the welcome, Pramono admitted he was moved. He then shared memories of his childhood in Kediri, where his parents worked as teachers raising eight children, including himself. To attend school, the family relied on government scholarship assistance. “If it weren’t for government assistance through scholarships, I wouldn’t have made it. So that is why I have been listening to what the Minister of Social Affairs conveyed and enjoying what the children presented,” he said. He also expressed admiration for the students’ performances. “What our children displayed earlier was extraordinary and serves as an inspiration. An inspiration for the future so that they all truly become resilient children,” Pramono remarked. Pramono assessed that Sekolah Rakyat represents a new hope for underprivileged families to gain access to quality education. “Hopefully, this becomes a long-term investment for the children of all the parents and relatives here,” he added. Pramono noted that Sekolah Rakyat aligns with DKI Jakarta’s main priority programmes, such as the Jakarta Smart Card (KJP), the Jakarta Superior Student Card, and the waiving of fees for diploma redemption. At SRMA 10 South Jakarta itself, 90 students are registered as recipients of the Jakarta Smart Card. “The faces of our children here now are faces full of hope. Faces that have not lost their spirit to look towards the future,” Pramono concluded.