South Sulawesi Provincial Government in Top Five for Bappenas Regional Development Award
Makassar (ANTARA) - The South Sulawesi Provincial Government (Pemprov Sulsel) has successfully achieved a position within the top five in the 2026 Regional Development Awards (PPD) organised by the Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas).
The South Sulawesi Provincial Secretary, Jufri Rahman, stated in Makassar on Wednesday that this achievement is the result of an evaluation of regional development performance and the quality of the development planning processes implemented by the provincial government.
Jufri noted that during the Bappenas verification process, the province presented various regional priority programmes, including the ‘Smart School’ innovation. This initiative, developed by the South Sulawesi Education Office, focuses on human development through the concept of ‘One Standard, One Teacher, One South Sulawesi’.
“In fact, this is the first hybrid learning system innovation presented by a provincial government in Indonesia,” he said.
Initiated by South Sulawesi Governor Andi Sudirman Sulaiman during his first term, the programme was created as an effort to reduce the gap in education quality between regions. Through the hybrid learning system, Smart School integrates face-to-face learning with digital technology, ensuring that educational materials received by senior high school students in South Sulawesi meet a more uniform standard.
According to Jufri, this programme serves as a key provincial innovation in supporting the equalisation of education quality based on digital technology. Smart School has been operational since 2022, aiming to expand access to quality education while simultaneously improving learning standards.
“Through this innovation, the best teachers can share knowledge with all students regardless of distance. We also see various development indicators continuing to show improvement,” he added.
“Therefore, we hope this assessment process serves as a space for evaluation and an opportunity to receive feedback from the Ministry of National Development Planning (Bapenas) so that the development of South Sulawesi can continue to improve,” said Jufri.
Furthermore, the Provincial Secretary also presented several macro indicators showing positive development trends in South Sulawesi. In the first quarter of 2026, South Sulawesi’s economic growth reached 6.88 per cent, higher than the national average, while the GDP per capita reached IDR 78.75 million.
Poverty levels also showed a declining trend. As of September 2025, the poverty rate in South Sulawesi stood at 7.43 per cent, lower than the national average. During the same period, the Gini ratio was recorded at 0.350 points.
The Human Development Index (HDI) for South Sulawesi in 2025 reached 75.92 points, higher than the national average. The Human Capital Index stood at 0.53 points, while the Environmental Quality Index increased to 80.67 points in 2025. The open unemployment rate also stood at 4.45 per cent, which is lower than the national average.
“These various indicators illustrate that the development planning implemented by the South Sulawesi Provincial Government is directed towards producing a measurable impact on community welfare,” he concluded.