Ganjar-Mahfud Promises To Implement Free Vocational Schools To Solve Poverty

Presidential Candidate Ganjar Pranowo /ANTARA / FARhan Arda Nugraha)

JAKARTA - Presidential Candidate number three, Ganjar Pranowo will apply Free Vocational School if elected in the 2024 presidential election. This program is believed to be able to reduce poverty because it has been implemented in Central Java since 2014.

This was conveyed by Ganjar when launching the 'Free SMK Direct Work for Poor Families' program at Pule Field, Selogiri District, Wonogiri, Central Java.

"After we see the practice that has been running for Central Java Vocational School for poor families and they can immediately work, then Ganjar-Mahfud wants this to be used as a program for us to develop nationally," said Ganjar as quoted from his written statement, Friday, December 29.

Ganjar said that in Central Java, SMK has graduated as many as 1,837 students and 80 percent are immediately absorbed in the world of work and higher education at the national and foreign levels. He will seriously work on it if elected with Mahfud MD.

In its implementation, one district or city will have one free vocational school. This school will prioritize accepting children from poor families.

Then, the government will have the task of bridging schools and companies in cooperation. Thus, children from poor families can go to school and increase the quality of human resources (HR) in the country.

"This is the first priority because of the needs of our children today, if we also ask about work, if we can design from the beginning of education, we can immediately meet the industry, hybridized by the government, then this is not an impossible story because we have practiced it," explained Ganjar.

"So this will be a program that can systematically solve poverty while improving the quality of our human resources," continued the former Governor of Central Java.

The program will focus first on remote areas where there is still little education infrastructure. The budget is confirmed to have been calculated and it is believed that it is not too expensive and even effective in alleviating poverty.

"We've only calculated the budget of IDR 50 trillion. So it's not too expensive, so it's much more systematic (to eradicate poverty, ed)," concluded Ganjar.