Jakarta steps up efforts to reduce school dropout rates - Jakarta - The Jakarta Post

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A woman lies on a wooden frame above a floor piled with green mussel shells on Sept. 20, 2025, in Cilincing, North Jakarta. Green mussels are widely harvested in Jakarta Bay, but there are concerns that pollution from factories and households may accumulate in them, including heavy metals and other contaminants. (AFP/YASUYOSHI CHIBA )

The Jakarta administration's new "Back to School" program has won praise for seeking to return out-of-school children to classrooms, but education experts caution that free schooling and outreach alone will not solve the factors driving children to drop out.The first phase of the initiative, which began on July 28, targets 180 out-of-school children in the West Jakarta districts of Taman Sari, Tambora, Cengkareng and Kalideres.

Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung’s special staff member, Cyril Raoul “Chico” Hakim, said officials were identifying and assisting out-of-school children through door-to-door visits involving the West Jakarta administration, district and subdistrict offices, neighborhood units (RT/RW) and Family Welfare Movement (PKK) volunteers.