Social Affairs Ministry Expands Data Collection for Banjarbaru Sekolah Rakyat Student Quota

The Ministry of Social Affairs is expanding data collection on target families to fulfil the student quota for the permanent Sekolah Rakyat (SR) in Banjarbaru City, South Kalimantan, through field assessments and verification to ensure designated pupils meet the programme’s criteria. Radna Dwi Sartika, Head of the Sentra Budi Luhur Banjarbaru and person in charge of the Banjarbaru Sekolah Rakyat, stated that the permanent SR quota in Banjarbaru consists of 60 primary school pupils, 120 junior high school pupils, and 90 senior high school pupils. “The primary school quota has been met, while 102 pupils have been registered for junior high school out of a target of 120, and 71 pupils for senior high school out of a target of 90, so data collection is still underway to complete the pupil requirements,” she said in Banjarbaru on Wednesday. Despite the shortfall, she explained that the Sekolah Rakyat approach is multi-entry, multi-exit, meaning the student quota is filled in stages while the learning process is ongoing and outreach to prospective beneficiaries continues. She said officers are collecting data on prospective pupils by gathering information on the children and their parents, family conditions, assessment results, and documentation of their residences, which is then entered into the system for verification. Radna explained that this process is carried out through the SETARA application, involving Family Hope Programme (PKH) facilitators who collect the data before it is submitted for the candidate selection process. She added that the selection of pupils is conducted through a plenary session with cross-agency involvement, including the Social Affairs Office, Statistics Indonesia, the Ministry of Religious Affairs, elements of the Ministry of Social Affairs, and PKH facilitators. She said the student intake process continues as needed because the Sekolah Rakyat approach provides opportunities for target families who meet the requirements to access boarding education. “Sekolah Rakyat is a government programme to provide broader access to education for children from target families while opening up opportunities for skills development up to higher education levels,” Radna said.