Dropping out of school is a phenomenon that still occurs in Indonesia. Although the number of school dropouts has tended to decrease over the past six years, a report by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (MoECT), stated that there were 75,303 children who dropped out of school in 2021. This figure is still quite high, especially at the elementary and junior high school levels.
Departing from this problem, the Vocational Education Program at Universitas Indonesia (UI) through the Student Executive Board (SEB) organized the Rumah Cita-cita program as a concrete step to represent the community so that the dropout rate can be minimized. Rumah Cita-cita is a work program of the Social and Environmental Department that focuses on teaching in academic and non-academic fields.
Collaborating with Remaja Kali Adem (REMKA), the Rumah Cita-cita program was implemented in Kali Adem, Muara Angke, North Jakarta to encourage children to learn and get education according to their level. Most of the residents of Kali Adem, Muara Angke live on the banks of the river which is an illegal area, causing the area to be repeatedly evicted by the government. The high level of poverty in the area means that many children in each family drop out of school.
The Rumah Cita program was attended by more than 80 students from kindergarten, elementary, and junior high school. “Seeing the high number of children dropping out of school which causes low education in Indonesia, Vocational UI SEB seeks to mobilize assistance in the form of providing education to these children in order to fulfill the educational rights they need,” said Alyssa Amanda Putri, Project Officer of Rumah Cita cita Vokasi UI.
The learning program focuses on academic subjects, such as science, mathematics, English, as well as non-academic subjects, such as professional classes, creativity, and entrepreneurship. Alyssa added, “We hope that this program can benefit these children to get an equal education. We have also held this program since last year and will become an annual program in the future,” said Alyssa.
The assistance provided by Vocational UI SEB is not only a learning program, but also donations from the community in the form of goods that are useful for the continuity of teaching and learning activities in the learning house established by REMKA. After building a library last year, this time Vocational UI SEB also provided assistance in the form of additional facilities, such as mats, fans, and paranet to provide comfort in the study house.
Director of UI Vocational Education Program, Padang Wicaksono, S.E., Ph.D., strongly supports and appreciates the activities carried out by Vocational UI SEB. Padang said, “I appreciate the program launched by Vocational UI SEB to help the environment, especially in the field of education. Vocational UI SEB is present as a student organization that has a positive impact on society.”
Author: Vocational School PR | Editor: Mariana
