- Ministry of Social Affairs, in partnership with P2MI, is equipping People’s School (Sekolah Rakyat) students with vocational and pre-employment training, including preparation for overseas jobs.
- 166 schools have been established nationwide, serving over 6,700 students; the program includes language proficiency, technical skills, and migrant worker readiness modules.
- As part of President Prabowo’s priority program, People’s Schools aim to provide quality education for underprivileged children and integrate poverty reduction initiatives with modern learning facilities.
The Ministry of Social Affairs is equipping students enrolled in Sekolah Rakyat, or People's Schools, with the skills and competencies needed to enter the workforce, including those desiring to become Indonesian migrant workers abroad.
The initiative, implemented in partnership with the Ministry for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (P2MI), is part of the government's move to enhance vocational education and pre-employment training, said Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf in a media conference in Jakarta on Monday.
“We want to make sure that the students at Sekolah Rakyat will not only receive formal education but also vocational training. For those who want to work abroad, we provide special training, especially in language proficiency and technical skills”, Minister Yusuf said.
He said that so far, 166 People's Schools have been set up across different regions of the country, at levels from elementary to junior and senior high school. For high school-level programs, there are about 6,700 current students enrolled, and the first class is due to graduate in 2028. After graduation, students are guided according to their interests and abilities.
"For students who plan to continue to university, we will support them up until they enter higher education. For those who want to go directly into employment, they will be supported through increased vocational training", he added.
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The Ministry of Social Affairs will also cooperate with P2MI in incorporating special learning modules for migrant worker preparedness into the curriculum of People’s School. Minister Yusuf expressed his hope that the program would help students understand how to work safely and legally abroad, both the opportunities and challenges.
The collaboration will also help in spotting students interested in overseas employment and subsequently guide them towards suitable educational pathways and internationally recognized certifications. “With the training and placement roadmap in P2MI, we can prepare students from an early age to become skilled and competent workers who are competitive in the international job market”, Yusuf said.
The People's School is one of President Prabowo's priority programs, which provides quality education to underprivileged children who come from families listed in the National Socio-Economic Integrated Database (DTSEN).
The program incorporates most of the government's poverty reduction programs like CKG or Free Health Checkup, MBG or Free Nutritious Meal, universal health care, Red and White Cooperative, and three million housing units. To improve the quality of learning, the Ministry of Social Affairs intends to equip schools with modern facilities such as interactive screens, high-speed internet access, laptops, and standardized uniforms for teachers and educators.
