TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf warned that the outreach and admission process for People's School students should not be infiltrated by bribery, collusion, and nepotism (KKN). He emphasized that the program is only intended for families that meet the beneficiary criteria, especially those from the poor and extreme poor.
Saifullah Yusuf delivered this warning while attending the opening of the School Environment Introduction Period (MPLS) for Integrated Elementary School I in Sragen Regency, Central Java, on Tuesday, July 14, 2026. Saifullah was accompanied by Deputy Minister of Social Affairs Agus Jabo Priyono and members of the Sragen Regional Leadership Communication Forum (Forkompimda).
According to Saifullah, the government has prepared a special mechanism to ensure that admitted students truly come from families in need. The outreach process is carried out through Family Hope Program (PKH) facilitators in collaboration with local governments.
"We are working with local governments, with teams from district heads, mayors, or governors at the provincial level. We are working with the Elementary and Secondary Education (Dikdasmen) to reach families who meet the criteria to attend People's Schools," said Gus Ipul, as he is familiarly known.
He said the process must be transparent and on target. People's Schools are designed as a government intervention to provide access to education for families who have been most disadvantaged.
"No one should be allowed to play around; no one should bribe, pay, or collude to get into People's Schools," said Saifullah.
He also reminded the public not to easily trust parties offering assistance to attend People's Schools in exchange for certain benefits.
"Don't be fooled by anyone, because this is intended for the most disadvantaged families," he said.
Saifullah explained that the government is involving PKH (Family Hope Program) facilitators because they are considered to have the data and experience to reach beneficiary families. In addition to the Ministry of Social Affairs, local governments are also involved to ensure the data collection process is carried out according to conditions on the ground.
On the other hand, Saifullah acknowledged that the People's School program still faces challenges in meeting its student quota, particularly at the elementary school level. Of the national allocation of approximately 9,000 students for People's Schools this year, only just over 5,000 elementary school students have enrolled. Meanwhile, the quota for junior high and high school levels has reportedly been met.
According to Saifullah, one of the obstacles to meeting the number of elementary school students is that some parents still hesitate to send their children to the People's School system, which implements an education model with intensive mentoring.
The government has allocated a budget of approximately Rp4 trillion for the operation of People's Schools this year. Saifullah stated that the program's operational needs are estimated at Rp3 million to Rp4 million per student per month.
"We are still calculating, but the estimate is approximately Rp3 million to Rp4 million per student per month," he said.
The budget is used to support education delivery, including various mentoring services for students from low-income families.
On that occasion, Saifullah also discussed the progress of the People's School infrastructure development. According to him, the government has begun the transition from temporary buildings to permanent ones.
Of the 166 planned People's Schools, 93 permanent buildings have entered the construction phase, with progress varying from 7 percent to 100 percent. Furthermore, 11 additional locations are still undergoing re-tendering.
"So, 104 locations are all underway. By the end of this year, we plan to add around 100 more permanent buildings to the construction of various locations throughout Indonesia," said Saifullah.
Specifically in Sragen, Saifullah commended the local government for providing land so that Integrated People's School I could transition from a temporary building to a permanent facility.
He stated that these facilities must be utilized optimally, as they were built using state funds.
"This was built using public funds and used to build the People's School," he said.
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