KPAI Finds Many Unlicensed, Business-Oriented Daycares

The Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) has reported that its monitoring has uncovered a number of daycares operating without licences or with weak legality, often purely business-oriented. “At the locus of our monitoring, we found daycares without licences or weak legality, so what the management does tends to be without control, and often the orientation we encounter is solely business,” said KPAI Chairman Aris Adi Leksono during a working meeting with the House of Representatives Commission VIII in Jakarta on Tuesday. “Their safe child guarding is weak and inadequate. This means efforts to establish a strong, comprehensive protection system for children in daycares are still very weak,” Aris Adi Leksono stated. Childcare worker competence is also lacking, and the caregiver-to-child ratio fails to meet standards. “The caregiver ratio is inadequate, meaning with so many enrolled children, the number of caregivers is relatively fewer. It is suspected this is done for profit,” said Aris Adi Leksono. The KPAI also criticised the central and regional governments, which tend to take action only after a particular case goes viral on social media. “The state, in this context the central and regional governments, only moves after something goes viral. We still need to strengthen systemic measures,” said Aris Adi Leksono. The KPAI conducted child protection monitoring at daycares in five regions: Depok, Pekanbaru, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, and Banda Aceh. This follows revealed cases of violence against children at the ‘Little Aresha’ daycare in Yogyakarta and ‘Baby Preneur’ daycare in Banda Aceh, which came to light in April 2026.