Ombudsman Monitors 'Sekolah Rakyat' in Bandung to Ensure Standard Compliance

Bandung — Ombudsman member Nuzran Joher has monitored the implementation of the ‘Sekolah Rakyat’ (People’s School) programme at the Politeknik Kesejahteraan Sosial in Bandung. The objective is to ensure the programme operates according to established standards while supporting the expansion of educational access for vulnerable groups of society.

“We want to observe directly as part of the monitoring and evaluation of President Prabowo’s policy regarding Sekolah Rakyat. The Ombudsman is present to provide external oversight of public services, as this is an extraordinary policy,” he stated in a press release received in Bandung on Monday.

He explained that the Ministry of Social Affairs has implemented improvements based on suggestions and feedback provided by the Ombudsman, particularly regarding governance, including human resources, infrastructure, and curriculum.

“There are eight items, several of which have been implemented by the Ministry of Social Affairs, relating to governance—specifically human resources, infrastructure, and curriculum. We observed these improvements yesterday, which is why we are conducting monitoring today,” he said.

He also provided further input regarding administrative prevention, human resource recruitment, and the proposal for permanent land for the Sekolah Rakyat programme.

Furthermore, he offered recommendations concerning the acceleration of the construction of Sekolah Rakyat, particularly addressing the challenges of requesting land from local governments for permanent facilities. He acknowledged that in major cities, it is difficult to propose land plots of approximately 6 to 8 hectares due to limited land availability.

“Therefore, we have proposed today that we do not necessarily require 6 to 8 hectares; instead, the area can be developed in a multi-storey format,” Nuzran added.