Procedurally Compliant but Educationally Incomplete: Implementation of the Education Component of Indonesia’s Family Hope Program in a Rural Village of Mukomuko Regency

Abstract

Indonesia’s Family Hope Program (Program Keluarga Harapan, PKH) is a conditional cash transfer that requires beneficiary families to keep school-age children enrolled with at least 85% attendance, yet irregular attendance and dropout persist among beneficiary children. This study analysed the implementation of the PKH education component in Tunggal Jaya Village, Mukomuko Regency, Bengkulu, and identified why its education targets were not fully achieved. A descriptive qualitative case study was conducted from February to March 2026. Data came from semi-structured in-depth interviews with purposively selected village officials, PKH facilitators, a PKH group leader, school staff, parents, and children from beneficiary families, supported by observation and document analysis, and were analysed interactively with source, method, and time triangulation. Administratively, the programme followed procedure: quarterly disbursement through the post office, monthly family development sessions, and monitoring by facilitators. The assistance eased school costs and raised parental awareness. Substantively, however, of 25 beneficiary students at the local junior secondary school, two had dropped out and several attended irregularly. Contributing factors were economic hardship, children’s involvement in family work, limited parental supervision, distance to school, delayed disbursement, incomplete understanding of programme obligations, weak facilitator–village coordination, and inaccurate beneficiary data. PKH implementation was procedurally adequate but not yet effective in sustaining children’s education.