13,000 Children in DIY Out of School, DPRD Urges Regents and Mayors to Find Solutions Quickly

The Yogyakarta Special Region (DIY) Provincial Legislative Council (DPRD) has urged regents and mayors throughout DIY to act swiftly in addressing the problem of children not attending school, numbering 13,669 as of March 2026. The government is requested not only to verify the data but also to promptly find solutions so that thousands of these children can regain access to education. Chairman of Commission A of DPRD DIY, Eko Suwanto, stated that the issue of children not attending school is a shared responsibility between district/city governments and the DIY regional government. According to him, school-age children must be fully facilitated to obtain educational services. “So, for those at the primary and junior secondary levels, they can be fully facilitated by the regents and mayors. Then, for senior secondary and vocational schools, this can be facilitated by the DIY regional government. There must be a way out,” said Eko on Friday (8/5/2026). The data on children not attending school was obtained from the consolidation of Dapodik and Pusdatin Dikdasmen. Of the total 13,669 children, 8,066 have been fully verified along with their causes, while the remaining 5,603 are still in the verification process. According to Eko, there are 18 indicators causing children not to attend school. Some of them include lack of education costs, already working, early marriage, environmental influences, and schools located far from home. “There are several factors causing this due to various reasons, such as not wanting to go to school, no funds, the school is far from home, some feel that the existing education is sufficient, already married, and so on,” he said.