Walkot Eri Cahyadi Promises, But In Fact Not All MBR Students In Surabaya Receive Free Uniforms And Shoes

Mayor of Surabaya Eri Cahyadi/PHOTO via personal Instagram

SURABAYA - Students from low-income communities (MBR) in Surabaya City, East Java, have not all received free uniforms and shoes as promised by the local city government.

"For example, I received a complaint from an MBR resident, he said that his two children had not received shoes from the city government. Fortunately, it was reported to me, so I bought new shoes," said member of Commission A of the Surabaya City DPRD, Imam Syafii, quoted by Antara, Monday, March 7.

Imam said the two students were Bagus Putra Sudibyo and Bagas Ramadhani, residents of Tembok Dukuh Village, Bubutan District, Surabaya.

According to Imam, Bagas and his brother, Bagus, have had to change school shoes since the implementation of face-to-face learning (PTM) in Surabaya in early January 2022. Bagas has just entered grade 1 of a private junior high school and Bagus is in grade 3 of a public junior high school.

Bagas goes to school once a week, while Bagus has to take lessons at his school every 2 days. When they have to take offline classes at the same time, Bagas is forced to go to school wearing his shoes that are damaged or have holes in them.

When Imam visited their modest home in a densely populated village, near the Gunawangsa Tidar Apartment, Dina, Bagas and Bagus' mother, said that her party had already asked her child's school. However, the school said there was not yet.

"Shouldn't these brothers and sisters need to be entangled in the issue of school shoes. The Surabaya City Budget has budgeted for school assistance for students from MBR families. Starting from free tuition, uniforms to school shoes, which are also provided free of charge," he said.

As a member of the Budget Board of the Surabaya City DPRD, Imam knows very well the amount of funds for MBR students.

He also discussed and agreed with the city government budget team before the ratification of the 2022 APBD of IDR 10.4 trillion at the Surabaya City DPRD Plenary Meeting, November 10, 2021.

"However, until now Bagas has not received his school shoes quota from the city government," he said.

Finding this, on Sunday (6/3) his party helped solve the problems of the two students who were diligent in studying.

"I took Bagas and Bagus to one of the malls in Surabaya. It was the first time they stepped foot into the most famous mall as well as being an icon of Surabaya," he said.

He hopes that this small gift can increase the energy of Bagas and Bagus in realizing their dreams. Bagas wants to be a businessman, while Bagus, who is calm and quiet, dreams of becoming a scientist.

Previously, the Mayor of Surabaya, Eri Cahyadi, said that free uniforms and shoes for students from the MBR family had been distributed to each school on the first 100 percent PTM day on January 10, 2022. The uniforms were the result of the production of SMEs in the city of Surabaya.

"Every school buys uniforms made by MSMEs for their students. So, it's not just for MBR students, including civil servants wearing MSME shoes and uniforms," he said.