DistantNews
Support us
🇮🇩 Indonesia /Culture & Society

Indonesia Minister Warns Against Bribery in People's School Enrollment

From Tempo · () Indonesian

Translated from Indonesian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified New plan
  • Indonesia's Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf warned against bribery in the People's School enrollment process.
  • The program targets families meeting specific poverty criteria, with facilitators and local governments involved in outreach.
  • Enrollment for elementary People's Schools is below target, partly due to parental hesitation over the intensive mentoring model.

Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf has issued a stern warning against corruption in the enrollment process for Indonesia's People's School program. He emphasized that the initiative is strictly for families in need, particularly those living in poverty. Yusuf delivered this message during the opening of the School Environment Introduction Period in Sragen Regency, Central Java.

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.

— Saifullah YusufThe Social Affairs Minister explained the collaborative process for identifying and admitting students to the People's School program.

The minister stressed that the government has established a clear mechanism to ensure only eligible families benefit. Outreach is conducted through Family Hope Program (PKH) facilitators in cooperation with local governments. "We are working with local governments, with teams from district heads, mayors, or governors at the provincial level," Yusuf stated, adding that collaboration with education departments ensures families meeting the criteria are reached.

He urged transparency and accuracy in the process, stating that People's Schools are a government intervention to provide educational access to the most disadvantaged. "No one should be allowed to play around; no one should bribe, pay, or collude to get into People's Schools," he declared. Yusuf also cautioned the public against falling for offers of assistance in exchange for benefits.

No one should be allowed to play around; no one should bribe, pay, or collude to get into People's Schools.

— Saifullah YusufThe minister issued a strong warning against corruption in the enrollment process.

Despite these efforts, the People's School program faces challenges in meeting its enrollment targets, especially at the elementary level. While junior and high school quotas are met, elementary enrollment is just over 5,000 against a national allocation of approximately 9,000. Yusuf cited parental hesitation towards the program's intensive mentoring model as a key obstacle. The government has allocated around Rp4 trillion for the program's operation this year.

Don't be fooled by anyone, because this is intended for the most disadvantaged families.

— Saifullah YusufHe cautioned the public against individuals offering assistance for enrollment in exchange for benefits.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Tempo in Indonesian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog