West Kalimantan Brings Special Service Education to Remote Island

RRI.CO.ID, Pontianak - For children living on the remote fringes of West Kalimantan, the dream of an education has long been sidelined by the vast distances and high costs of maritime travel. However, the provincial administration is now aggressively closing that gap by transforming village offices into makeshift classrooms under its Special Service Education (PLK) initiative.

The program, which gained significant momentum in 2025 under the leadership of West Kalimantan Governor, Ria Norsan, aims to dismantle the socio-economic and geographical hurdles that keep children in isolated areas out of school.

By bringing the teachers to the students rather than forcing children to undertake dangerous and expensive boat journeys, the province is fundamentally changing its approach to literacy and regional development.

Acting Head of the West Kalimantan Education and Culture Agency, Syarif Faisal Indahmawan Alkadri, highlighted the critical need for this intervention during a briefing in Pontianak on Monday, April 27, 2026. He pointed specifically to the challenges faced by families in the archipelago regions, where formal school buildings are often non-existent.

“In areas like Lemukutan Island and its surroundings, there are no schools available. If they want to attend school, children have to cross the sea, which involves long travel times and high costs. This condition resulted in many children ultimately not attending school,” explained Faisal, as quoted by Antara.

To resolve this, the provincial administration established branch classes hosted at the Lemukutan Island village office in Bengkayang Regency. This satellite unit is managed by Sungai Raya Kepulauan 1 Public High School, utilizing a rotating teaching system to maintain consistency.

“Teachers come alternately every week to teach. Although not yet at maximum capacity, at least the children can still attend school. During exams, they travel to the parent school to participate in the full assessment stages,” he added.

Faisal emphasized that the PLK scheme is a strategic pillar in ensuring equitable and high-quality education for those previously left behind. The success of the initial rollouts has prompted plans for further expansion throughout 2026.

“PLK exists because of various factors, whether distance, socio-economic conditions, or limited access. Moving forward, we will continue to seek out other locations in need so that educational access in remote areas becomes increasingly open,” said Faisal.

The initiative follows a successful pilot in 2024, which saw the opening of two PLK units, which are one in Lemukutan Island, Bengkayang, and another in Pelita Jaya Village, Kubu Raya Regency.

The latter operates under the guidance of Kubu 1 Public High School, serving as a blueprint for the province’s ongoing mission to ensure no child is denied an education by the terrain they were born into. ***