Prabowo Targets All Schools Renovated by 2029, Funds Sent Directly

President Prabowo Subianto has set a target for all schools in Indonesia to be fully renovated by 2029. To accelerate the programme, the government will distribute renovation funds directly to headteachers, with oversight provided by school committees. “This year we will complete the renovation of 77,000 schools. Next year our target is 100,000 schools, and in 2028 another 100,000. We hope that by 2029 all Indonesian schools will have been renovated, all schools in Indonesia will have been renovated,” Prabowo stated during a Plenary Cabinet Session at the State Palace in Central Jakarta on Monday (20/7). Prabowo explained that the budget distribution mechanism for school renovations would be carried out directly to headteachers. According to him, the use of these funds will be supervised by committees involving parents and teachers. “And we will send the money directly to the headteacher, supervised by the parents’ committee, the teachers’ committee, and so on. And it turns out the results have been very good,” he said. On the same occasion, Prabowo also revealed that Indonesia had just received an award from the United Nations specialised agency, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), for achievements in digital government and the digitalisation of education. According to Prabowo, Indonesia received the highest award among 122 countries in the e-government and education digitalisation categories. He noted that the award was supported, among other things, by the use of the Rumah Pendidikan platform, which has been utilised by more than 6.9 million users. “The International Telecommunication Union gave the highest award to Indonesia out of 122 countries in the e-government and education digitalisation categories,” he continued. He said the platform provides 4,843 free learning resources and is used to support hundreds of thousands of teachers, especially in disadvantaged, frontier, and outermost regions. “Rumah Pendidikan, an integrated portal with interactive flat panels that we distribute, has been used by more than 6.9 million users. It provides 4,843 free learning resources and helps hundreds of thousands of teachers in disadvantaged, frontier, and outermost regions,” he stated. The Head of State assessed that the award represents recognition of the development of digitalisation in education in Indonesia. Nevertheless, he stressed that the government will continue efforts to improve educational facilities, including through accelerating school renovations across Indonesia. “This UN award proves that our education digitalisation is recognised globally. We are not easily satisfied, the journey is still long, but we want to improve all our schools,” Prabowo said.