Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia’s Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has launched a Rp630 billion program to revitalize 809 schools in East Nusa Tenggara province for the 2026 fiscal year, officials said on Monday.Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Abdul Mu'ti said the program officially began with a groundbreaking ceremony at a kindergarten in Kupang city, marking the start of large-scale school upgrades across the province.He said East Nusa Tenggara was prioritized due to the presence of schools in underdeveloped, frontier, and outermost (3T) regions, as well as to support President Prabowo Subianto’s directive on implementing 13 years of compulsory education.”Hopefully, with this development, teaching and learning activities and the quality of education in East Nusa Tenggara will improve,” Mu'ti said.As of April 2026, nine schools had signed cooperation agreements, while the remaining 800 schools were still undergoing verification and validation processes required to finalize the agreements, Mu’ti added.In Kupang district, 37 schools are in the verification stage with a total budget allocation of Rp17.10 billion, while four schools in Kupang city are at a similar stage, according to the ministry.Mu'ti said the revitalization of a Christian kindergarten in Kupang city is expected to take four months and be completed by August 2026, supporting the introduction of one year of mandatory pre-school education.He added the program is expected to help strengthen human resources development in the province by improving overall education standards.