How is the Government Improving Daycare in Indonesia?
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – Cases of neglect and violence against children in childcare services, or daycares, have recently come to light. The Ministry of Population and Family Development/National Population and Family Planning Agency (Kemendukbangga/BKKBN) claims to have one pathway for improvement.
Through the Taman Asuh Sayang Anak (Tamasya) programme, Kemendukbangga/BKKBN has initiated mentoring and certification for daycares across Indonesia. “It’s like an upgrade from regular daycares,” said Deputy for Family Welfare and Empowerment at Kemendukbangga/BKKBN, Nopian Andusti, at the ministry’s office in Jakarta on Tuesday.
According to him, the programme can assist newly established daycares as well as those already operating. Through this programme, several aspects are developed in participating daycares. “The first is monitoring child growth and development. Previously in daycares, this wasn’t measured,” said Nopian.
In future, daycares will be equipped with the capacity to monitor child development in a measurable way. “So if something is deemed abnormal in the child, there is a referral service, referring to community health centres, specialist doctors, and so on. This is what distinguishes Tamasya from general daycares.”
“Then the second is capacity building for the caregivers or attendants,” through this second step, caregivers will receive training, both in-person and remotely, culminating in certification. Currently, around 5,000 caregivers have been trained and certified.
“Now, the third is service enhancement. And the fourth, capacity building for parents. So don’t think that once the child is placed in a daycare, it’s done.”
Since its launch in May last year, there are now 3,366 daycares that have become Tamasya. These daycares are located in private companies, government offices, and communities.
Director of Family Resilience, Toddlers, and Children at Kemendukbangga/BKKBN, Fabiola Tazrina Tazir, explained that the programme aligns with President Prabowo Subianto’s message during last May Day commemoration. “One of the workers’ aspirations on May Day was the provision of daycares. This is something that Kemendukbangga has actually been doing since last year with Tamasya,” she said.
She noted that Indonesia is currently in a demographic bonus period. One of the requirements to capitalise on it is increasing women’s participation in the workforce. “This (Tamasya) is the answer. It means whether women can enter the workforce, including this aspect. So daycares are very helpful, especially for young families where support systems are unavailable.”
To support the strengthening of the programme’s implementation, Kemendukbangga/BKKBN has also developed the Tamasya app as an integrated reporting and recording system. “So we’ve compiled it, it’s ready, the Tamasya app. Through it, parents can get feedback from Tamasya about their child’s condition. We can also see from there, after providing feedback, how many parents actually respond.”