President Prabowo Subianto has established a special task force dedicated to constructing 300 bridges across Indonesia’s remote regions, aimed at addressing urgent access challenges to education, particularly for children who must cross rivers daily just to reach school.

“These are children who cross rivers every day to attend school. They risk their lives, and they sit in class with their clothes soaked,” he said during the 2025 Annual Meeting of the Indonesian Central Bank (BI) in Jakarta on Friday, November 29, 2025.

Speaking before state leaders, economic authorities, and industry figures, Prabowo screened a video showing students wading through deep waters without any bridge in sight. He emphasized that such conditions reflect the harsh reality faced by many young learners in isolated communities ‒ one that the government must act on without delay.

“Our poorest citizens cannot afford to wait. They need immediate action that truly defends their rights,” he stressed.

Preliminary government data indicates that approximately 300,000 similar river crossing points still exist throughout the country. Prabowo reminded officials that economic growth should never overshadow the struggles endured by those who risk their safety for education.

“Our growth figures look impressive, but our children still enter the river every morning, drenched in class, and return home the same way. As state leaders, we must think about this,” he said.

In response, he announced the creation of the Village Emergency Bridge Task Force, a dedicated team mandated to build small bridges and secure access routes in vulnerable regions nationwide.

To accelerate the mission, Prabowo has instructed the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology to deploy civil engineering students in their second to fourth year to assist village bridge design efforts. Meanwhile, military and police engineering units have been directed to construct the bridges as quickly as possible.

Prabowo also made it clear that administrative delays will not stand in the way of this urgent program.

We’re not talking about feasibility studies or long seminars. Our children are calling for help ‒ we must respond,” he said.