Revisiting Indonesia’s Sekolah Rakyat Policy through John W. Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Framework

Author : Liah Siti Syarifah, Danny Meirawan, Johar Permana

Abstract : This article analyzes the emergence and institutionalization of the Sekolah Rakyat Program as a national policy priority during the Prabowo administration using John W. Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Framework (MSF). Sekolah Rakyat is a free boarding-school model designated for children from the poorest households, designed as an integrated intervention combining formal education, nutrition, healthcare, social support, and a stable learning environment. Through document analysis, this article illustrates how the problem stream was shaped by increasing concern over extreme poverty, educational inequality, and the limitations of regular schools in reaching children from poor families. In the policy stream, the availability of technocratic solutions—such as the boarding school model, state infrastructure readiness, the use of the National Socioeconomic Single Data (DTSEN), and strong international empirical evidence— strengthened the feasibility of the program. Meanwhile, the politics stream was marked by President Prabowo’s political commitment, parliamentary support, and broad public acceptance of pro-poor policies. The convergence of these three streams opened a policy window that enabled the rapid implementation of more than 100 Sekolah Rakyat units within a short period, with the President acting as a policy entrepreneur. This article also highlights sustainability challenges, including long-term funding needs, teacher quality consistency, cross-sectoral coordination, and potential new inequalities within the education system. The findings affirm that the success of Sekolah Rakyat requires regulatory strengthening, institutional capacity building, and outcome based evaluation mechanisms to ensure long-term impacts on poverty alleviation and social mobility

Keywords : public policy, Multiple Streams Framework, Sekolah Rakyat, poverty alleviation, educational inequality, policy entrepreneurship, and social mobility.

Conference Name : International Conference on Education Policy and Quality Assurance (ICEPQA-26)

Conference Place : Hanoi, Vietnam

Conference Date : 10th Jun 2026