Indonesia Advances Permanent People’s School in East Nusa Tenggara

RRI.CO.ID, Kupang - The Indonesian government continues to advance the construction of permanent Sekolah Rakyat (People’s Schools) in various regions across the country. One of them is in Kupang Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, where construction has reached nearly 75 percent completion and is targeted to be finished by July, ahead of the new academic year.

According to the official website of Ministry of Social Affairs published on Sunday, May 31, 2026, Minister Saifullah, stated that Sekolah Rakyat is a program initiated by President Prabowo Subianto for children from low-income families classified in Decile 1 and Decile 2 of the National Integrated Socio-Economic Data (DTSEN), representing the lowest welfare groups nationwide. The program provides not only free education for children, but also aims to empower their parents as part of a broader effort to break the cycle of poverty and help prepare Indonesia’s Golden Generation 2045.

He further explained that the Ministry of Public Works is responsible for constructing the permanent school facilities. Before construction began, assessments were conducted to ensure the suitability of the land and compliance with technical requirements.

“Before construction started, all aspects were carefully assessed, including water availability, disaster resilience, and other technical requirements evaluated by the Ministry of Public Works,” he said.

He added that the Kupang facility is the first permanent Sekolah Rakyat in East Nusa Tenggara and expressed hope that more regencies and cities across the province would establish similar schools in the future.

“Under the coordination of the governor, we hope many more regencies and municipalities will prepare suitable land so that additional schools can be built soon,” he said.

For information, the pilot Sekolah Rakyat in Kupang has been operating since July 2025. The permanent campus currently under construction is located on Tilong Dam Road in Oelnasi Village, Central Kupang District, Kupang Regency, covering an area of 10 hectares.

Once completed, the school will be equipped with various facilities to support learning activities for up to 1,000 students. These include classrooms for elementary, junior high, and senior high school levels, science and computer laboratories, a library, dormitories for male and female students, teachers’ housing, sports facilities, a cafeteria, kitchen, places of worship, a multipurpose hall, and an extracurricular activity center.