Scouts Must Be Part of Core National Education Structure, Says Minister

Youth and Sports Minister Erick Thohir has stated that the Scout Movement (Gerakan Pramuka) is now positioned to become part of the core structure of national education in order to strengthen character building among Indonesian youth.

The statement was delivered by the minister at a press conference following the opening of the 12th National Jamboree series at the Cibubur Scout Camping Ground and Scout Tourism Centre (Buperta) in Jakarta on Friday, representing President Prabowo Subianto.

“The President’s message is clear: in building youth character, Pramuka is the most important part. Pramuka is no longer an extracurricular activity, but must become part of the education structure,” he said.

He explained that the integration will cover all levels of formal education, including primary, secondary and higher education.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports (Kemenpora), together with the National Headquarters (Kwarnas) of the Scout Movement, will soon carry out consolidation to prepare a roadmap so that scouting becomes more established, grows and plays a role in character education for the nation’s generation.

Minister Erick Thohir emphasised the importance of cross-sector collaboration to steer Indonesia’s demographic bonus potential in a positive direction, especially ahead of the 100th anniversary of the Youth Pledge.

“This is no longer the era of working alone; this is the era of working together as one force so that Indonesia’s demographic bonus moves in a good direction. Our responsibility at Kemenpora is to consolidate all capabilities so that Pramuka is returned to its core purpose as a tool for building national character and enters the core programme,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the National Headquarters of the Scout Movement Budi Waseso added that character building through Pramuka is a mandatory matter for the younger generation and cannot be separated from the education system.

For this reason, according to him, Kwarnas greatly needs cooperation from ministries and institutions, starting from Kemenpora, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen), and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology (Kemendiktisaintek), to develop and adjust the Pramuka curriculum.

“We hope that by 2045, as the President expressed earlier, the Golden Generation can truly be realised, that the Golden Generation truly comes into being,” he remarked.

The 12th National Jamboree itself is taking place from 13 to 20 August 2026 at Buperta Cibubur, Jakarta, with around 25,000 participants from 35 provinces across Indonesia.