Vice President Visits Way Bungur Madrasah to Boost Education

Vice President Gibran Rakabuming visited Madrasah Tsanawiyah (MTs) Muhammadiyah I Way Bungur in East Lampung to ensure that efforts to strengthen education and human resource development reach both state and private schools.

Ari Hidayat, Head of MTs Muhammadiyah I Way Bungur, said the visit demonstrated the government’s attention to private schools that play a role in educating the nation’s children. “We conveyed to the Vice President that this is a private school. However, our shared goal is to educate the nation’s children,” Ari Hidayat said, quoted from an official release by the Vice Presidential Secretariat in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The visit took place after the Vice President inspected bridge construction in Way Bungur. The inspection of the private school was part of the government’s efforts to ensure inclusive and quality human resource development, in line with the implementation of President Prabowo Subianto’s Astacita vision in the education sector.

“So, healthy and full,” said Naufal Affani, a Year 8 student, when asked about the benefits of the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme he receives.

In addition to reviewing the implementation of the MBG programme, the Vice President checked the condition of classrooms for students in Years 7 to 9. During the inspection, he paid attention to several classrooms that still required repairs, including limited learning facilities such as interactive flat panels (IFP) and whiteboards.

According to Ari Hidayat, the Vice President instructed his staff to immediately record the school’s needs so that they could be proposed for assistance. “He directed his team to immediately note down the requirements for aid. Everything is to be recorded and proposed immediately,” he said.

The Vice President was accompanied on the visit by Lampung Deputy Governor Jihan Nurlela, East Lampung Regent Ela Siti Nuryamah, Head of the Lampung Provincial Education and Culture Office Thomas Amirico, Head of the Way Bungur Nutrition Fulfilment Service Unit (SPPG) Galih, Acting Secretary of the Vice Presidential Secretariat Al Muktabar, and Special Staff to the Vice President Achmad Aditya.