Thank You, Mr President: Our School Is No Longer the Same

An emotional yet proud atmosphere enveloped SDN Cimahpar 5 in Bogor City, West Java, on Wednesday. Siti Maulida, a Year 4 pupil, boldly read out an open letter addressed specifically to President Prabowo Subianto. In the presence of Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Abdul Mu’ti and Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Pratikno, Siti expressed deep gratitude on behalf of her peers for the new face of their school. “Through this letter, we wish to thank the President for the new school building that has been given to us,” Siti Maulida said as she read her letter with great enthusiasm. She revealed that the education unit revitalisation programme had transformed their school building into facilities that are much better, comfortable, and safe. Siti acknowledged that this transformation makes the daily learning atmosphere far more enjoyable. Not only regarding infrastructure, Siti also conveyed a message of thanks for the implementation of the Free Nutritious Meals programme. According to her, the nutritional intake provides extra energy for the pupils to focus more and be enthusiastic in absorbing lessons. “We feel very happy and grateful for the President’s attention to us, the children of Indonesia. We promise to study hard, be disciplined, and be good children so we can achieve our dreams and make the nation and state proud,” she said sincerely. Responding to the letter, Minister Abdul Mu’ti delivered a special message from President Prabowo Subianto to all pupils at SDN Cimahpar 5. The President stressed that Indonesian children should never feel inferior even if they do not live in the capital city. “The President advised you to be diligent Indonesian children, you must be great children. Have noble aspirations, have high aspirations. Do not be inferior, do not be cowardly. Do not give up easily,” said Abdul Mu’ti, echoing the President’s message. Furthermore, Abdul Mu’ti emphasised that every child has an equal ability to compete. The President also sent a message for the pupils to start seriously mastering foreign languages as a provision for facing competition in the global world. “The President advised you to master foreign languages. Yes, master foreign languages so you can compete,” he concluded. Coordinating Minister Pratikno stated that the education unit revitalisation programme is one of the government’s efforts to improve the quality of superior human resources. The revitalisation priorities for 2026 are focused on disaster-affected schools, schools in underdeveloped, frontier, and outermost regions, as well as schools with severe physical damage.