Sekolah Rakyat boarding schools: who they are for, how pupils are selected, costs and how to raise concerns

What families should have ready

• Your child’s and parents’ NIK and your family card (KK) number, to check your family’s DTSEN status and decile on Cek Bansos.
• Contacts for the regency or city social affairs office, your local social welfare worker (for example a PKH facilitator) and the village or kelurahan office.
• A family decision about full-time boarding, because the ministry requires formal permission from parents.
• The Ministry of Social Affairs number 171, its WhatsApp 0887-7171-171, and SAPA 129 (phone 129, WhatsApp 08-111-129-129).
• Questions for the school: family visiting times, how to contact your child, and the contact for the dormitory supervisor or carer.

Steps for families of prospective Sekolah Rakyat pupils

1. Check your family’s DTSEN data

   Sekolah Rakyat pupils come from extremely poor and poor families listed in the National Single Socio-Economic Database (DTSEN), the family welfare database managed by Statistics Indonesia (BPS). Check your family’s status and decile at cekbansos.kemensos.go.id; if you are not listed or the decile looks wrong, submit a proposal or objection.

2. Understand how pupils are admitted

   Under Presidential Regulation (Perpres) 120/2025, pupils are admitted through outreach, meaning the Ministry of Social Affairs (Kemensos) and regional governments look for suitable candidates. Families in deciles 1 and 2 come first; if there are no more candidates from those deciles, the next decile is prioritised according to capacity. Kemensos says outreach does not use academic tests.

3. Ask the social affairs office or a social welfare worker

   Because outreach is carried out by Kemensos with regional governments, ask your regency or city social affairs office or a local social welfare worker whether a Sekolah Rakyat serves your area and when outreach takes place. We found no public online application form on the official websites.

4. Go through verification and confirmation

   Your family’s status is checked in DTSEN and in person, including a home visit and an interview with parents. The outreach results are confirmed by the governor, regent or mayor. According to Kemensos, the health check takes place after candidates have been confirmed as pupils.

5. Learn the boarding rules before your child goes

   Sekolah Rakyat are full-time boarding schools with 24-hour supervision. Ask about family visiting times, how to contact your child and who the dormitory supervisor or carer is, and save the school’s number.

6. Raise problems through the right channel

   Raise concerns first with the dormitory supervisor, carer or head teacher. Questions and complaints about the programme can go to Kemensos on 171 or persuratan@kemsos.go.id. For violence against a child, contact SAPA 129 or the police on 110.

Cost of Sekolah Rakyat

Free. Perpres 120/2025 defines Sekolah Rakyat as boarding schools whose costs are paid in full by the government, and Kemensos says meals and drinks, school equipment, uniforms, textbooks and health checks are provided free. Funding comes from the national budget, regional budgets and/or other lawful sources.

Because Sekolah Rakyat are free and pupils are admitted through outreach, any paid “registration” offer, or one sent through unofficial links or numbers, should be treated as a likely scam. Do not send your child’s personal details to anyone like that.

What Sekolah Rakyat are and their legal basis

Presidential Instruction (Inpres) 8/2025 on poverty reduction and the elimination of extreme poverty, signed on 27 March 2025, told the Minister of Social Affairs to set up and run boarding schools (sekolah rakyat) for poor and extremely poor communities. The legal basis was then strengthened by Presidential Regulation 120/2025 on running Sekolah Rakyat, promulgated on 22 December 2025.

The regulation defines Sekolah Rakyat as formal boarding schools at basic and secondary level that focus on character building and life skills, with all costs paid by the government. Each school is set up by the Minister of Social Affairs as a technical implementing unit of the ministry. The curriculum follows national education standards, enriched with character building, religious values, life skills and psychosocial support.

According to the official FAQ, Sekolah Rakyat certificates are equivalent to those from ordinary schools because they use the national curriculum. As of 11 October 2026, Kemensos recorded more than 44,000 pupils at 182 sites, 93 of them in permanent buildings; the rest were still in temporary buildings.

• Perpres 120/2025 on running Sekolah Rakyat (Indonesian) ↗
• Ministry of State Secretariat: Presidential Instruction 8/2025 (Indonesian) ↗

Who it is for and how pupils are chosen

Article 7 of Perpres 120/2025 says pupils come from extremely poor and poor families according to DTSEN. Article 8 says admission is through outreach, a process carried out by Kemensos and regional governments to make sure candidates are well targeted, with the results confirmed by the governor, regent or mayor. According to the Kemensos FAQ, families in deciles 1 and 2 come first, and if there are no more candidates from those deciles, the next decile is prioritised according to capacity.

In October 2026 Kemensos explained that outreach does not use academic tests but decile 1 and 2 data; candidates are processed regionally, confirmed and then given a health check. The Kemensos FAQ mentions checking poverty status in DTSEN and in person, including a home visit and an interview with parents, and regional government approval of the list of candidates.

An older FAQ also mentions “participatory registration”. We follow the newer Perpres 120/2025, which sets admission through outreach. We found no public online application form, so what families can do is make sure their DTSEN data is correct and ask the local social affairs office or a social welfare worker.

• Kemensos Sekolah Rakyat: FAQ on selection and eligibility (Indonesian) ↗
• Kemensos Sekolah Rakyat: outreach without academic tests, 12 October 2026 (Indonesian) ↗

Costs, boarding and pupils’ health

There are no fees. According to the Kemensos FAQ, the state covers learning needs and living costs while pupils live in the dormitory, including meals and drinks, school equipment, uniforms, textbooks and health checks, with 24-hour supervision in the dormitory.

Because the schools are full-time boarding schools, Kemensos requires formal permission from parents. The Kemensos FAQ notes that parental consent has been a particular challenge at primary level. Before giving permission, ask about family visiting times, how to contact your child and who the dormitory supervisor and carer are.

Sekolah Rakyat pupils are included in the school free health check (CKG Sekolah), which takes place at school. Kemensos says it is continuing to improve management and supervision and to fill shortages of teachers, dormitory supervisors and carers.

• Kemensos Sekolah Rakyat: requirements and parental permission (Indonesian) ↗
• SATUSEHAT Mobile: CKG Sekolah includes Sekolah Rakyat (Indonesian) ↗

Children’s safety and complaints

Start with the school: raise your concern with the dormitory supervisor, carer, teacher or head teacher, and note the date, what happened and who you spoke to. If it is not resolved, contact the Joint Secretariat of the Sekolah Rakyat Programme at Kemensos on 171 or persuratan@kemsos.go.id; the Kemensos website also lists WhatsApp 0887-7171-171.

For physical, psychological or sexual violence against a child, contact the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection’s SAPA 129 service by phone on 129 or WhatsApp 08-111-129-129, or report to the police on 110. In a medical emergency, call 119. How to record incidents and keep evidence is explained in our guide to bullying at school.

Perpres 120/2025 allows the public, including families, to take part in running Sekolah Rakyat, including through oversight. Complaints about the programme’s services can also be made through SP4N-LAPOR!, the national public service complaints system.

• Ministry of Social Affairs: 171 and WhatsApp contacts (Indonesian) ↗
• KemenPPPA: report to SAPA 129 (Indonesian) ↗

Things to check carefully

Frequently asked questions