Ministry of Social Affairs to Recruit 5,000 Teachers for 'Sekolah Rakyat' This Year

Minister of Social Affairs Saifullah Yusuf has announced that his ministry will recruit 5,000 teachers and education personnel for the Sekolah Rakyat (People’s Schools) programme this year. He stated the recruitment drive aims to cover the shortage of teaching staff at several Sekolah Rakyat locations.

“This year we are opening another opportunity for teacher recruitment, more than 5,000 teachers and education staff, for those who meet the requirements,” Saifullah said at the Parliament complex in Jakarta on Wednesday, 17 June 2026.

Gus Ipul, as he is known, explained that the shortage of teachers in Sekolah Rakyat has so far been managed through the assistance of other teachers. The total number of Sekolah Rakyat students from primary to senior high school level in the 2025/2026 academic year reached 15,000 pupils.

“In several locations that still lack teachers, they have been backed up by existing teachers,” Saifullah said.

Saifullah stated the Ministry of Social Affairs will continue to improve preparations for the implementation of the Sekolah Rakyat programme in the next academic year. Moreover, he noted, there is a possibility that the number of Sekolah Rakyat students for the 2026/2027 academic year will increase.

“We continue to strengthen human resources so that with a much larger number of students, the need for teachers and other human resources can be met,” said the Secretary General of the Nahdlatul Ulama Executive Board (PBNU).

During the initial implementation of the Sekolah Rakyat programme, hundreds of teachers decided to resign. Minister of Social Affairs Saifullah Yusuf assessed that the main cause of these resignations was the placement location being too far from the teachers’ residences.

“The teachers who resigned chose to leave because their placement was far away. However, we have prepared replacements from prospective teachers undergoing professional education,” Saifullah said in August last year.

The Ministry of Social Affairs stated it has prepared more than 50,000 reserve teachers who are currently undergoing Teacher Professional Education (PPG) and are ready to replace the positions of those who resigned. Nevertheless, the surge in resignations has raised concerns about the effectiveness of the Sekolah Rakyat programme’s implementation.

Yanuar Nugroho, a public policy analyst from the Nalar Institute, assessed that the administrative system established by the central government is too rigid and ignores social realities. “Placements carried out by the administrative system without considering the teachers’ domicile or mobility capacity cause a mismatch between the educational needs in the regions and the personal readiness of the teachers,” Yanuar said.

National Coordinator of the Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPI) Ubaid Matraji emphasised the need to involve local governments in the placement process. According to him, a one-way policy from the central government will continue to create problems on the ground.

“Local governments should be involved in determining teacher placements because they understand the geographical and socio-economic conditions in their respective areas better,” Ubaid said. He also suggested that teachers be involved from the outset in determining teaching locations through consultations or preference surveys, so they have a greater sense of ownership and responsibility towards the programme.