Situbondo Regent says people's schools have no interest, targets starting in 2026

Jakarta – The People’s School program in Situbondo Regency aims to start running in 2026. The Regent of Situbondo, Yusuf Rio Wahyu Prayogo, said data over 5,000 prospective people’s school students are ready. “Previously we budgeted for schools, but because there was a folk school, it eventually happened, coincidentally there was a budget cut, and it doesn’t matter to the People’s School,” he said in a written statement on Friday (10/10/2025). Rio added that his party also provided land for a permanent folk school. This location was investigated by a team from the Ministry of Public Works. Browse to continue with the content “(the location) was questioned. It’s ready,” he said. In terms of supporting facilities and infrastructure, he said they would be ready by 2026. He hopes that the implementation of the People’s School can be implemented in Situbondo as soon as possible. Rio ensured that the People’s School is not important because prospective students are also prepared. “I really hope the people’s school can be held in Situbondo,” he said. The head of the Situbondo Regency Social Service, Timbul Surjanto, also conveyed the security of the implementation of People’s School. He said the implementation of the People’s School program in Situbondo Regency would probably start in 2026. However, he emphasized that it was not because there was a lack of interest, but rather waiting for the readiness of supportive facilities and infrastructure. “The delay in implementing this program was not due to a lack of interest, but due to infrastructure readiness issues and the implementation time too close to the new school year,” Timbul said. He explained that his party together with representatives from the central government has investigated several prospective places for Pilot People’s School buildings. This includes locations with buildings and infrastructure, but not renovated, and then places of 5 hectares of empty land as possible locations for the erection of a permanent human school. “Because the time is now with the new school year, the implementation cannot start this year,” he said. Timbul reiterated that the delay in implementing the People’s School in Situbondo was not due to a lack of enthusiasts. On the other hand, public enthusiasm is quite high. “It’s not because there’s no interest. But there’s not enough time and the cost of preparing the building and facilities is quite large,” he said. As for prospective students, he ensured that their names were recorded. However, his party wants to ensure that the facilities and location are really ready for use. “So it’s not true to say that there were no registrants at all,” he said. He explained that the target of people’s school students came from poor families recorded in Decile 1 to 4 of the single national social and economic data (DTSEN). For the time being, prospective people’s school students are instructed to attend public schools so that they do not lose their right to study. However, in the future, if all preparations for facilities and infrastructure are completed, the People’s School can be implemented as soon as possible. “Hopefully this can be realized next year because this program is very good for equal distribution of education in Situbondo,” he concluded. (Anl/Ega)