KPK Conducts Review on People's School Programme
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is conducting a review to support the People’s School programme, an initiative by the Indonesian government overseen by the Minister of Social Affairs.
This was stated by KPK spokesperson Budi Prasetyo when confirming the procurement of shoes for the People’s School programme, which has sparked controversy.
“As a form of support for the People’s School programme, which is one of the national priority programmes, within the framework of corruption prevention, the KPK through its Monitoring Directorate is currently conducting a review,” said KPK spokesperson Budi Prasetyo in a written message on Monday (4/5).
Budi explained that the review aims to map potential corruption vulnerabilities in the implementation of the programme, including in the area of goods and services procurement (PBJ).
In this way, he said, stakeholders can increase vigilance and ensure that every process runs meticulously, transparently, and accountably.
Budi added that strengthening corruption prevention is a crucial point, given that the PBJ sector still has a relatively high level of vulnerability.
“Some common methods include directing procurement plans that do not match needs; misuse of the e-purchasing system, including the preparation of Estimated Own Prices (HPS); and arranging tender winners who are often in the circle of stakeholders,” he said.
Moreover, Budi continued, KPK enforcement data from 2004-2025 records 446 out of a total of 1,782 cases related to procurement. This mode of cases is the second largest after bribery or gratification, with 1,100 cases recorded.
Budi assured that his institution continues to strengthen monitoring through various prevention instruments, one of which is the Integrity Assessment Survey (SPI).
In the last two years, the SPI score for the Ministry of Social Affairs has shown dynamics that require joint attention, from 79.16 in 2024 to 75.79 in 2025, or in the “alert” category.
More specifically, the management of PBJ in the 2024 SPI for the Ministry of Social Affairs was only at 67.66. Meanwhile, in the same area in the 2025 SPI, there was an increase, but the expert or specialist component still gave a low score of 69.94.
“Through this monitoring and supervision, the KPK encourages all stakeholders to continue strengthening systems that prioritise principles of integrity and accountability,” said Budi.
“Active public participation is also expected to be an important part in safeguarding clean and transparent government governance,” he concluded.
Previously, Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf or Gus Ipul provided clarification regarding the controversy over the budget for shoe procurement for the People’s School programme, amounting to Rp27 billion.
The budget drew public attention due to allegations that the price of People’s School shoes reached Rp700,000 per pair.
Gus Ipul explained that the figure was only an initial plan and not final. According to him, the planned budget would go through a transparent procurement process.
“So, every budget is planned beforehand, right? Planned and then there is certainly a procurement process. Well, this procurement process is tendered openly and the result will definitely be cheaper than the planning,” said Gus Ipul when inspecting the construction of the People’s School in Kedung Cowek, Surabaya, on Sunday (3/5).
Meanwhile, Reynaldi Daud, owner of the local shoe brand Stradenine from Surabaya, provided an explanation after a photo of his product was linked to the People’s School programme.
Through his X social media account, @reynaldi_daud, he emphasised that his company has never been involved in the shoe procurement project for the People’s School. CNNIndonesia.com has obtained permission to quote his post.
“The photo of the product circulating in the news is indeed one of our articles, priced at Rp179,900. Stradenine has never been involved, known, or received direct orders in the shoe procurement being reported,” said Reynaldi.