Sentil Pramono Soal Banyak Anak Putus Sekolah, DPRD: Kota Global Jauh dari Impian

DKI Jakarta DPRD Paripurna/PHOTO: Diah Ayu-VOI

JAKARTA - The DKI Jakarta Provincial Government has increased the number of private schools that have entered the free school program to 103 in the 2026/2027 school year. However, the DPRD reminded that this policy has not answered the problem where there are still many children in Jakarta who drop out of school.

This program has previously been running in 40 schools in the 2025/2026 school year. The addition of 63 new schools is said to be an effort to expand access to education for the poor.

Member of the PAN Faction of the DKI Jakarta DPRD, Lukmanul Hakim, appreciated this step. However, he assessed that the implementation in the field was not targeted.

He highlighted that there are still areas that have not been reached by the program, such as Cengkareng, which he said still has a fairly high dropout rate.

"Global cities are still far from dreams if there are still many dropouts. I hope the Governor's team will really see, Sir, in determining the point of free schools," said Lukmanul in the plenary meeting of the DKI Jakarta DPRD, Thursday, April 30.

According to him, the limited capacity of state schools is also a problem that has not been completed. Meanwhile, the distribution of free schools is considered not to have fully reached the areas with the highest needs.

"Today, public schools have not been fulfilled, sir. But the 103 free location points are not all targeted, sir. In the Cengkareng area, there are still many children who drop out of school," he said.

Another highlight came from the PKS Faction. Deputy Chairman II of the PKS Faction of the DKI Jakarta DPRD, M. Subki, asked the Provincial Government not to forget religious-based schools, especially madrasahs, which are under the Ministry of Religion.

"We express our gratitude and gratitude for the implementation of free private schools which have reached 103 schools," said Subki.

However, he reminded that this program was only a first step and still needed to be expanded. Subki proposed that in the future, private madrasahs should also be included in the free school scheme, in line with the increase in the fiscal capacity of the region.

"Please note, don't forget, in Jakarta there is also education under the coordination of the Ministry of Religion: Madrasah. They are Jakarta children, they also pay taxes to us. So don't let this discrimination last long," he said.

In response to this, the Governor of DKI Jakarta Pramono Anung opened the opportunity for an increase in the number of free schools, provided that the fiscal space allows.

"Hopefully in the future, if the fiscal space of the DKI Jakarta DPRD can be increased, we will definitely add it," replied Pramono.

He emphasized that education was the main priority of the DKI Provincial Government, including through various assistance programs such as the Smart Jakarta Card (KJP), KJMU, to the whitening of diplomas.

According to Pramono, the expansion of free schools is expected to reduce the gap in access to education and reduce the number of children who do not go to school due to economic factors.

"The free private schools that we are starting now with 103 (schools), of course, hopefully it will further reduce, narrow the opportunity for Jakarta children to not be able to go to school because they can't afford it," said Pramono.