PDIP South Kalimantan Urges Prabowo to Improve Education Quality in Regions, Here’s Why

Jakarta – The Chairman of the South Kalimantan Regional Leadership Council (DPD) of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), HM Syaripuddin, has urged President Prabowo Subianto to focus on improving the quality of education in the regions, such as Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku, Nusa Tenggara, and Papua. According to Syaripuddin, the disparity in education quality between Java and communities in the regions, particularly in eastern Indonesia, is strikingly wide. This is evident both in the form of supporting education facilities and the quality of teaching staff. “We do not intend to lecture, but it must be acknowledged that this disparity in education quality is very apparent before our eyes. Therefore, we ask the government to focus on efforts to improve the quality of education,” he stated in a written statement on Saturday, 2 May 2026. The man familiarly known as Bang Dhin said that education in the regions must be focused on several interrelated basic aspects, for example, accessibility to education must ensure that all communities can access education services without barriers, whether from economic, geographical, or social aspects. “Education must be focused on strengthening access, improving infrastructure, and enhancing teacher welfare. This is aimed at improving the quality of education services evenly, reducing inter-regional disparities, and thus producing superior and competitive human resources,” he said. Bang Dhin mentioned that based on data from the South Kalimantan Provincial Education Quality Assurance Agency (BPMP), there are currently 5,680 teachers who are not yet certified out of a total of 14,144 education personnel. From the perspective of education quality, he added, the majority of schools are still at accreditation level B, with 175 schools, while 117 schools are accredited at level A, and 69 schools remain at level C. In addition, infrastructure issues are a major concern. There are 1,399 classrooms in damaged condition, consisting of 917 lightly damaged, 319 moderately damaged, and 163 severely damaged. “This data is specific to South Kalimantan; conditions in other parts of eastern Indonesia are likely similar or even worse. We hope the government can quickly assist in improving the quality of education personnel. Because the certification of these teachers is also related to the welfare of those unsung heroes,” he said.