Prabowo targets renovation of 300,000 schools, boosts national digitalisation

President Prabowo Subianto has reaffirmed his commitment to a comprehensive reform in the education sector, from school infrastructure improvements to nationwide digitalisation of learning. Prabowo emphasised that the government is accelerating the school renovation programme with a target of 300,000 units over the next five years. “I am currently carrying out physical improvements to schools. Last year, we managed only 17,000 schools. This year, 70,000 schools. Next year, I want to increase to 90,000 schools. In five years, I want to complete 300,000 schools,” said Prabowo during a dialogue titled “President Prabowo Responds to MBG Criticism, BOP on Palestine & Negotiations on US Tariffs with Donald Trump,” which aired on Saturday (21/3). In addition to physical repairs, the government is transforming the learning system through digitalisation across all schools in the country. Prabowo stated that more than 288,000 interactive flat panel units have been distributed to disadvantaged, frontier, and outermost (3T) regions. The President explained that these devices are equipped with learning materials to help students understand lessons more interactively. “Each interactive panel has software that we fill with almost all lesson syllabi. So after one class, if the teacher wants to repeat it, it’s there,” he said. Furthermore, Prabowo revealed that the government is preparing a centralised teaching system to address disparities in teacher quality across regions. “Later, we will have a studio where the best teachers will teach in schools without maths teachers or English teachers; they will get the lessons. And interactively, we can monitor in the classroom,” he explained. The President stressed that this education reform is part of a broader strategy to improve the quality of Indonesia’s human resources amid global technological developments. “This is leaps and bounds in human capital steps,” Prabowo asserted. According to the President, education is the primary key to increasing productivity and driving national economic growth.