Jakarta, March 22 -- President Prabowo Subianto stated that the construction of free public schools (Sekolah Rakyat) is one of the government's efforts to break the chain of poverty.

"Children of the poor should not be poor. If the father is a scavenger, the child should not become a scavenger. We must empower them," he noted in a statement on Saturday.

The president made this statement during the plenary cabinet meeting on Friday, during which he revealed that 200 boarding schools will be built this year, targeting one thousand students per school.

"It will consist of elementary, junior high, and high schools for the poor," he remarked.

He emphasized that the Sekolah Rakyat program is not merely an educational facility but a strategi...