Social Affairs Ministry Prepares Two Pathways for First Sekolah Rakyat Graduates

The Ministry of Social Affairs is preparing a future placement scheme for 11 students who are the first graduates of the senior high school level from the Sekolah Rakyat programme this academic year. Minister of Social Affairs Saifullah Yusuf said during a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday that the placement options are currently still in the assessment stage and being deepened based on each student’s interests and competencies. “For these children graduating from senior high school, there are two pathways. First, if they have the academic competence to continue to higher education, intensive assistance and guidance will be provided,” said Saifullah. To realise the skilled employment pathway, the national social authority is currently exploring strategic cross-sectoral cooperation with the Ministry of Manpower and the Ministry of Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers. In general, the education system at Sekolah Rakyat applies an open or multi-entry and multi-exit model, the aim of which is to embrace children from poor families who had dropped out of school for periods of two to three years, or even longer. Through this adaptive approach, the Ministry of Social Affairs recorded that 400 out of 15,000 Sekolah Rakyat students are preparing to graduate this year, spread across various levels from elementary school, junior high school, to senior high school. On the other hand, the ministry is also anticipating the transition phase of moving students to 93 new permanent buildings, which could potentially trigger technical obstacles in the form of a shortage of teaching staff and operational personnel, while the quota for new students will increase to 35,000 Sekolah Rakyat students in June and August 2026. To navigate these operational challenges, Saifullah requested support from regional governments to second external teachers as temporary teaching staff for the first three months of the transition period. This collaborative step is considered important to fill the void in teacher formations, cleaning staff, and security officers, given that the internal human resources recruitment process for Sekolah Rakyat is still ongoing. “Therefore, we need assistance from the regions, temporary teachers who are asked to help Sekolah Rakyat in this first stage, perhaps for the next three months. After that, we still need cleaning staff and security personnel, because the human resources for Sekolah Rakyat are still in the recruitment process,” he said.