Indonesia rehabilitates 10,000 schools to boost rural education

hartono · Aug 6, 2026

Indonesia rehabilitates 10,000 schools to boost rural education

Minister of Villages and Disadvantaged Regions Yandri Susanto delivers his remarks at the national seminar on the Red and White Village/Sub-district Cooperative (KDKMP) in Makassar on Tuesday (August, 2026). (ANTARA/Nur Suhra Wardyah)

Makassar, S. Sulawesi (ANTARA) - The Indonesian government is rehabilitating approximately 10,000 schools across the country this year out of a total targeted requirement of 20,000 educational facilities, Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions Minister Yandri Susanto said.

Speaking in Makassar on Wednesday, Susanto outlined the program as a direct mandate from President Prabowo Subianto intended to address infrastructure disparities, particularly in remote and underdeveloped regions.

"The total requirement exceeds 20,000 schools. Following the President's direction, we have commenced work on roughly 10,000 schools this year," Susanto said.

The minister cited substandard facilities in isolated areas, such as Kuri Caddi Hamlet in Maros District, South Sulawesi, as key examples driving the initiative.

In that area, a religious school overseen by the Ministry of Religious Affairs operates adjacent to a rapidly expanding fishermen's cooperative, underscoring the need for synchronized infrastructure upgrades.

Susanto stressed that the school renovation program is being carried out in close coordination with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to ensure comprehensive coverage in remote and outermost areas.

He noted that the ministry is adopting an inter-agency operational model to address complex rural development challenges.

"We are not supermen, but a super team," Susanto said, emphasizing that cross-ministry collaboration extends to agricultural development such as thematic corn and fruit production villages, where his ministry works alongside the Agriculture Ministry.

For frontier, outermost, and disadvantaged (3T) regions, the ministry has partnered with the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) to construct basic infrastructure, including clean water systems and access bridges.

"The President's directive is clear: all ministries and state institutions must work together. This is not the task of a single ministry, but a unified national effort," Susanto said.