Governor Ahmad Luthfi Prepares Free People's Schools In Central Java

Central Java Governor Ahmad Luthfi is identifying land and buildings that can be used for public schools, a free education program from elementary to high school for poor families.

This school does not have to be built on assets belonging to the Central Java Provincial Government, but can also take advantage of facilities belonging to the district/city government. Construction and revitalization of buildings are targeted to start in 2025.

"The main target of people's schools is students from extreme poor or poverty-prone families. This school will be free," said Ahmad Luthfi.

This statement was conveyed in a coordination meeting and socialization of people's schools in the Central Java Provincial Government, which was also attended by Minister of Social Affairs Saifullah Yusuf (Gus Ipul) as well as regents and mayors throughout Central Java.

The Governor of Central Java emphasized that this program is part of a national strategy launched by President Prabowo Subianto to reduce the number of school dropouts.

Currently, there are 160,000 students dropping out of school in Central Java. Meanwhile, the poverty rate is still at 9.58%.

"Free people's schools will help break the chain of poverty through education," added Luthfi.

Students who are entitled to attend public schools must come from the environment around the school and meet the requirements, namely coming from poor families and having academic achievements.

However, Luthfi admitted that preparing land for public schools is not an easy matter. According to the provisions of the Ministry of Social Affairs (Kemensos), each school requires 5 to 10 hectares of land.

Minister of Social Affairs Saifullah Yusuf stated that people's schools will start operating in the 2025/2026 school year. In the early stages, schools will take advantage of the assets belonging to the Ministry of Social Affairs as the main location.

This school will adopt the boarding school (asrama) concept, with education that lasts 24 hours a day. The curriculum will be equivalent to superior schools, with additional character education.

For land provided by the provincial government and the district government, ownership status is still in the discussion stage.

"In the next week, it will be ascertained how many schools are ready, both in the form of revitalized buildings and provided land. We are waiting for the proposal until next week," concluded Gus Ipul.

With the free people's school program, it is hoped that access to education for poor students will be more open and the poverty rate in Central Java can be significantly reduced.