Jakarta, October 14, 2026 — The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) is supporting efforts to build a culture of environmental stewardship in educational institutions through a collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Religious Affairs. This initiative encourages changes in environmentally friendly behavior, starting with daily habits, especially in schools that have never participated in the Adiwiyata School Program.
Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education (Wamendikdasmen), Atip Latipulhayat, emphasized that environmental awareness is part of the core education policy that needs to be realized through strengthening graduate competencies, learning, character building, and providing adequate school facilities.
"School is where habits are formed. The habits developed at school will be carried by students home, in their neighborhoods, and in their workplaces," said Deputy Minister Atip at the Ecological Repentance for Environmentally-Cultivated Schools event in Jakarta on Monday (12/10).
Deputy Minister Atip explained that environmental concern is reflected in the dimensions of faith and piety in the eight dimensions of graduate profiles, as stipulated in the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Regulation Number 10 of 2025 concerning Graduate Competency Standards. This concern can also be strengthened through in- depth learning, co-curricular activities, the 7 Habits of Great Indonesian Children Movement, and the Clean School Movement, which promotes a safe, healthy, tidy, and beautiful school environment.
To that end, Deputy Minister Atip encouraged schools to initiate changes based on the real-world conditions in their respective environments, such as identifying daily waste volumes, improving waste management, maintaining clean toilets and drains, and conserving energy and water. The results of this identification are expected to form the basis for improvements integrated into school work plans and budgets.
"Change cannot depend on just one or two individuals. Therefore, the commitment of the entire school community and the support of the local government are needed to foster environmental awareness into a culture," he added.
This enthusiasm is felt by Dini Purnama Sari, a teacher at SMKN 17 Jakarta. Her school has encouraged students and the school community to bring their own water bottles and lunch boxes, while also sorting and processing organic and inorganic waste through co-curricular activities. The school also provides self-filling facilities to help students reduce their use of bottled beverages.
Meanwhile, Annisa ul Chasanah, a teacher at SDN Malaka Jaya 10 Jakarta, conveyed the school's commitment to getting used to sorting waste, reducing single-use plastic, caring for plants, and making compost from food scraps from the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program and dry leaves.
Through cross-ministerial collaboration and active participation from school communities, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education hopes that Ecological Repentance will not stop at declarations but will develop into concrete actions and daily habits. Thus, schools can become spaces for the growth of a generation with character, responsibility, and a concern for environmental sustainability. (Author: Shaka/Editor: Stephanie/Seno H.)
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