KPAI Highlights Unlicensed Daycare Allowed to Operate
The Commission for Child Protection in Indonesia, or KPAI, has highlighted allegations of violence against children at Little Aresha Daycare. The childcare facility, located in Yogyakarta City, also lacks an operational permit.
KPAI Commissioner Diyah Puspitarini stated that her organisation frequently handles problematic daycares like Little Aresha. She noted that such unlicensed daycares prioritise business interests alone.
“They operate with a pure business orientation, disregarding regulations, especially establishment permits,” she said when contacted on Sunday, 26 April 2026.
She assessed that these illegal, problematic daycares often ignore the surrounding community by failing to seek approval from community leaders or village officials. However, Diyah explained that establishing a daycare requires permits from the local education department and regional government.
“The regulations are in place, but the supervision that the government can carry out may still be weak, as if just waiting reactively rather than being proactive,” she said.
She stated that licensed daycares are less likely to commit violence or illegal acts. This is because, Diyah said, permitted daycares receive guidance, supervision, and oversight from the regional government.
Furthermore, she described the alleged abuse pattern at Little Aresha Daycare in Yogyakarta as systematic. According to her, there appears to be a standard operating procedure where children at certain times have their hands or feet bound.
Parents, she said, are also prohibited from directly observing the childcare patterns at specific times. “And it is carried out en masse by the caregivers, suggesting there was an instruction to do so (to commit the violence),” she added.
Diyah urged the government and law enforcement to thoroughly investigate the alleged abuse incident at the daycare, particularly targeting the leadership and foundation owners. She also hopes that the Yogyakarta City Government will evaluate all daycares in the area by checking their permits.
“Of course, KPAI also hopes that Little Aresha Daycare will be permanently closed,” Diyah said.
Yogyakarta Mayor Hadi Wardoyo confirmed that the Little Aresha Daycare was operating illegally. “Without a TPA (childcare centre), PAUD, or kindergarten permit,” he said.
Hadi emphasised that the absence of permits left the government unable to verify operational standards for childcare, kitchens, and sanitation facilities.
As a follow-up, the Yogyakarta City Government will immediately conduct a mass sweep of all childcare institutions to ensure the safety and legality of services provided to the public.
Yogyakarta Police have named 13 suspects, consisting of one foundation head, one school principal, and eleven caregivers.
Yogyakarta Police Chief, Commissioner General Eva Guna Pandia, explained that the suspects are charged under the child protection law for alleged neglect and discriminatory mistreatment.
“There are 53 infants under two years old verified to have experienced physical violence, including inhumane acts such as binding hands and feet, which were witnessed directly by officers during the raid,” she said.