Kotabaru, South Kalimantan (ANTARA) - Regent of Kotabaru, South Kalimantan Province, H Muhammad Rusli have visited Social Affairs Ministry to propose establishment of Sekolah Rakyat in "Bumi Saijaan" (nickname of Kotabaru).
Rusli expounded the importance of establishing the tuition-free school program Sekolah Rakyat (People's School) to reach children from poor families and remote areas in Kotabaru.
"We hope this program can be a real solution to improve the quality of life of the community through education," Rusli stated, Saturday.
The Ministry's Secretary General Robben Rico expressed his support for the initiative.
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He welcomed the Kotabaru Regent's proposal and acknowledged that the Sekolah Rakyat program was indeed designed to complement the existing educatin system.
"We strongly support this initiative. With collaboration between the central and regional government, we are confident that this program can run well and provide a positive impact on the community," said Robben.
The Sekolah Rakyat initiated by the ministry aims to provide a free, quality education for children from disadvantaged families.
Not only formal subjects, the school will provides curriculum that emphasizes character building, leadership, and skills.
It will equip with dormitory facilities to support students' needs during learning process, with integrated education levels from SD (elementary), SMP (secondary) and SMA (high school).
The construction and operation of Sekolah Rakyat will fully funded by the ministry (Kemensos). The regional government is only asked to provide a land area of 5 to 10 hectares.
The Ministry of Social affairs and the District Government of Kotabaru will then conduct a location survey and prepare the required infrastructure.
If all goes according to plan, the construction of Sekolah Rakyat in Kotabaru is expectted to begin in the middle of this year.
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