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Sekolah Rakyat under spotlight after displacement of disabled students
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Several classrooms of SLB A Pajajaran in Bandung, West Java, are partially demolished to make way for the Sekolah Rakyat program on May 16, 2025. (Kompas.com/Faqih Rohman Syafei)
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resident Prabowo Subianto’s flagship Sekolah Rakyat (community school) education initiative, designed to expand access for children from low-income families, has come under public scrutiny after the displacement of visually impaired students from a century-old special needs institution in Bandung, West Java.
SLB A Pajajaran, a state-run school serving 111 students with visual impairment, is located within the historic Sentra Wyata Guna complex, Indonesia’s oldest social rehabilitation center, established in 1901.
The government began a major renovation project at the site last week, converting two of the school's three buildings into classrooms for the Sekolah Rakyat program, which is scheduled to launch in July.
The move has drawn criticism for its abrupt execution and lack of clear communication. Parents said they received short notice, even as students were sitting for final exams.
“We were shocked that the school had to be emptied on such short notice, especially as the children were taking their examinations,” said Tri Bagyo, a representative of the SLB A Pajajaran parents group, as quoted by Kompas.com.
Parents had requested that construction be postponed until May 23 to allow exams to finish. Nevertheless, renovations commenced on May 15, prompting an immediate evacuation. The students were transferred to SLB Cicendo, another state-run special needs school about 1 kilometer away.
Read also: Critics slam Prabowo’s smart screens as misplaced education priority
