South Sulawesi Provincial Government in Top Five for Bappenas Regional Development Award

The Provincial Government of South Sulawesi has secured a place in the top five of the 2026 Regional Development Award assessment organised by the Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas. South Sulawesi Regional Secretary Jufri Rahman stated that the achievement reflects the evaluation of the region’s development performance and the quality of the planning process undertaken by the provincial government. During the Bappenas verification process, the administration presented various priority regional programmes, including the Smart School innovation, which was a focus of assessment in the human development aspect. Developed by the South Sulawesi Education Office under the concept of ‘One Standard, One Teacher, One Sulawesi’, it is the first hybrid learning system innovation introduced by a provincial government in Indonesia. The programme, initiated by Governor Andi Sudirman Sulaiman during his first term, aims to reduce disparities in education quality between regions. Through a hybrid learning system, Smart School integrates face-to-face instruction with digital technology so that high school students across South Sulawesi receive a more uniform standard of education. The programme has been running since 2022 with the goal of expanding access to quality education while improving learning standards. Jufri noted that the best teachers can share knowledge with all students without distance limitations, and various development indicators continue to show improvement. He expressed hope that the assessment process would serve as an evaluation space and an opportunity to receive input from the Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas to further improve development in South Sulawesi. The regional secretary also presented several positive macroeconomic indicators. In the first quarter of 2026, South Sulawesi’s economic growth reached 6.88 per cent, higher than the national average, while per capita GRDP reached Rp78.75 million. The poverty rate also showed a declining trend, standing at 7.43 per cent in September 2025, lower than the national average, with a Gini ratio of 0.350 points. The province’s Human Development Index reached 75.92 points in 2025, exceeding the national average, while the Human Capital Index stood at 0.53 points and the Environmental Quality Index improved to 80.67 points. The open unemployment rate was also recorded at 4.45 per cent, lower than the national average. Jufri stated that these indicators demonstrate that the provincial government’s development planning is directed towards producing measurable impacts on public welfare.