Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education strengthens media partnership to support education policy
Jakarta - The Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) has affirmed the importance of collaboration with mass media in ensuring that education programmes and policies are communicated comprehensively, accurately, and in an understandable manner to the public.
The ministry’s Communications and Public Relations Bureau held a Policy Dialogue between Kemendikdasmen and Mass Media as a forum for information exchange and strengthening strategic partnerships between government and media.
Secretary-General of Kemendikdasmen Suharti, speaking in South Tangerang City, Banten Province, on Tuesday, commended the Education Press Forum (Fortadik) for consistently supporting the ministry in disseminating education information and policies.
“Because of the role of media, Kemendikdasmen is ultimately able to understand what is happening in the field and what we need to follow up on,” she said.
The Smart Indonesia Programme (PIP), she noted, is one initiative whose implementation continues to be strengthened. Since its launch in 2015, PIP coverage has increased significantly. “Whereas previously only a few million recipients were served, by last year the figure reached approximately 17.9 million beneficiaries. The number of educational institutions receiving support also increased from 1 million to 1.8 million institutions,” Suharti stated.
From 2026 onwards, Kemendikdasmen will expand PIP coverage to include Early Childhood Education (PAUD). This policy, according to Suharti, forms part of the commitment to implementing the 13-year Compulsory Education initiative, ensuring that children from low-income families have the opportunity to participate in at least one year of early childhood education before entering primary school.
Additionally, Suharti highlighted the ADEM Programme, which targets children from disadvantaged, frontier, and remote regions (3T), Indigenous Papuans (OAP), and children of Indonesian migrant workers. The programme is designed to provide access to quality secondary education whilst encouraging beneficiaries to contribute to the development of their home regions.
“Kemendikdasmen continues to strive to ensure that OAP scholarship recipients can return and contribute to building Papua,” she said.
The ministry also ensures the sustainability of high-achieving students through the Indonesian Talent Scholarship, which provides opportunities to pursue higher education both domestically and internationally.