Social Affairs Ministry and TNI Develop Character-Building Scheme for Sekolah Rakyat Students

The Ministry of Social Affairs (Kemensos) is collaborating with the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) on a character-building programme for students of Sekolah Rakyat. Around 1,000 cadets from the Military Academy (Akmil) will be involved in the coaching process, with a scheme of five cadets responsible for one school to deliver various materials, such as clothing neatness and dormitory room orderliness. This was conveyed during a meeting between Deputy Minister of Social Affairs (Wamensos) Agus Jabo Priyono and Commandant General of the TNI Academy Lieutenant General R Sidiharta Wisnu Graha, Territorial Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Bambang Trisnohadi, and Director of Education of the TNI Academy Brigadier General Ari Novian at the Kemensos Office in Central Jakarta on Wednesday (24/6). Wamensos Agus Jabo stated that neatness is one of the matters receiving attention from President Prabowo Subianto. “Later, after there is a scheme between TNI Headquarters and Kemensos, c.q. (in this case) under the Ministry of Defence, the plan is that in each Sekolah Rakyat there will be five cadets. Five cadets who will guide both the students and the teachers on matters of neatness,” said Agus Jabo. According to him, this coaching is important to shape students’ character to be more disciplined. Since the Sekolah Rakyat project began, Minister of Social Affairs (Mensos) Saifullah Yusuf reportedly realised that coaching for discipline would be necessary to transition from old habits to a new habitat. “And from the beginning, we have actually requested the TNI/Polri to be involved in that coaching process. So if later on we implement this, there is no problem, it is in accordance with the Presidential Instruction (Inpres Number 8 of 2025),” added Agus Jabo. On the same occasion, Commandant General of the TNI Academy Lieutenant General R Sidiharta Wisnu Graha conveyed that his party will send approximately 1,000 Level 1 and Level 2 Cadets to carry out this character-building coaching at 178 Sekolah Rakyat locations. “We will prepare one thousand people, including the cadet supervisors. So the cadets we send will be Level 1 and Level 2,” said Wisnu. Currently, TNI Headquarters and Kemensos continue to finalise the implementation scheme for the Sekolah Rakyat student coaching programme. The activity is planned to commence in early August 2026 over a one-week period, with materials covering techniques for ironing uniforms, tidying bed sheets and wardrobes, and polishing shoes.