MPLS Begins, Farhan Ensures All Children Get School Seats

Wali Kota Bandung Muhammad Farhan has ensured that all new students in Bandung City have gained access to education, whether in state or private schools. He confirmed this after inspecting the implementation of the Masa Pengenalan Lingkungan Sekolah (MPLS) at several schools on Monday (13/7). The inspection was carried out at SMP Negeri 3, SMP Negeri 10, SD Negeri 047, and SMP Negeri 43 Bandung City. “Alhamdulillah, today there is not a single child in Bandung City who has not secured a seat in their respective school,” he said. Farhan noted that this new academic year includes around 22,000 new state primary school students and approximately 19,000 new state junior secondary school students. Meanwhile, around 10,000 other students have been accepted into private schools, bringing the total number of new students to approximately 51,000 - 52,000 children. The Bandung City Government continues to pay attention to students attending private schools through educational assistance programmes, ensuring all children still have the opportunity to learn. “It is acknowledged that there are still several areas that are blank spots, namely areas that do not yet have adequate school access. Therefore, the construction of new schools will be prioritised based on regional needs, not solely on the number of students,” he explained. In addition, Farhan said the Bandung City Government is also preparing solutions for children who have never experienced formal education. One of these is through the Pusat Kegiatan Belajar Masyarakat (PKBM) programme. “There is one child in the Pagarsih area who is already 10 years old and has never attended school. A child like this cannot directly enter a regular school or Sekolah Rakyat, so we direct them to PKBM for equivalency education,” he said. Farhan hopes that all students can participate in MPLS well as an initial stage of getting to know the school environment before starting the full teaching and learning process the following week.