Free Private Schools Increase to 103, Pramono: Hopefully Break the Chain of Unfortunate

JAKARTA - The DKI Jakarta Provincial Government is expanding the free private school program in the 2026/2027 academic year. The number of schools involved increased to 103, after the addition of 63 new schools from the previous 40 schools in the 2025/2026 academic year.

This expansion marks the continuation of a program that targets students from poor families so that they can still access education without being burdened by costs.

The Governor of DKI Jakarta, Pramono Anung, emphasized that this policy is part of the DKI Provincial Government's serious effort to close the gap in access to education in the capital.

"Jakarta is really starting to allocate funds for free private schools. Hopefully, what the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government does can break the chain of misfortune in poor families," said Pramono in his statement, Sunday, April 25.

This program is carried out based on the DKI Jakarta Governor's Decree (Kepgub) Number 312 of 2025, with a total budget of Rp. 253,625,139,600. The funds are allocated to support the operations of schools that are included in the program.

A total of 40 private schools that have already joined will receive full funding for 12 months, from January to December 2026. Meanwhile, 63 new schools began receiving assistance in the second semester, namely July to December 2026.

The coverage of this program includes various levels of education, ranging from elementary, middle, high school/vocational school to SLB which are spread across five administrative city areas of Jakarta. The DKI Provincial Government targets this intervention to be able to hold back the potential for school dropout, while expanding the school options for the community.

Apart from that, the DKI Provincial Government ensures that other education assistance schemes continue to run. Programs such as the Smart Jakarta Card (KJP), the Outstanding Jakarta Student Card (KJMU), to the clearing of diplomas are still part of the regional education policy package.

The Head of the DKI Jakarta Education Office, Nahdian, explained that the selection of schools refers to the Governor's Regulation Number 34 of 2025 on Education Assistance for Private Education Units. One of the main priorities is private schools located in areas without state schools.

In addition, schools must meet a number of administrative and quality requirements, such as having official permits, being registered in Dapodik, being accredited, and receiving School Operational Assistance (BOS) in the last three years.

Nahdiana also emphasized that schools that are included in this program must no longer collect any fees from students.

"He is no longer allowed to collect anything from students. So in Article 20 of the Regional Regulation, private schools that receive education funding are prohibited from collecting any fees from students," said Nahdiana.