Jakarta, Sept. 19 -- The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is preparing to expand the Smart Indonesia Program (PIP) to include early childhood education (PAUD), aiming to improve education access for children from underprivileged families.

Director of PAUD at the ministry, Nia Nurhasanah, stated during a dialogue with journalists here on Friday that the proposal is currently under inter-ministerial review and being discussed with the parliament.

"Our hope is that PIP can soon cover PAUD students, especially those from underprivileged backgrounds, so they can attend at least one year of preschool before entering elementary school," she remarked.

Nurhasanah explained that limited family finances are one of the factors behind th...