MPR Deputy Speaker Calls for Targeted Intervention to Tackle Out-of-School Children

People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Deputy Speaker Lestari Moerdijat has stressed the need for appropriate intervention measures to address the number of out-of-school children in Indonesia. “Concrete steps and collaboration among relevant parties must be taken immediately to tackle the number of out-of-school children, in addition to appropriate intervention measures,” she said in a statement in Jakarta on Friday. She explained that data from the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education as of 1 April 2026 recorded that 3,966,858 school-age children had not accessed education. This figure consists of 1,913,633 children who have never attended school, 986,755 dropouts, and 1,066,470 graduates who did not continue to a higher level. “This figure is a serious alarm. We cannot just stop at the data. Concrete steps are needed by utilising the latest data so that interventions are right on target,” said Lestari. According to her, efforts to address the out-of-school rate must be handled by getting to the root of the problem. She encouraged political will from stakeholders and the optimisation of data utilisation on out-of-school children down to the village level. “With accurate data, assistance such as distance learning equipment, the Smart Indonesia Programme, and scholarships can be right on target,” she said. The member of House of Representatives Commission X, which oversees education, also said that non-formal equivalency education programmes, such as packages A, B, and C, as well as vocational skills education, must be a priority. Graduates of these programmes, she said, need to be equipped with competencies relevant to industry needs and entrepreneurship. “All stakeholders at the central and regional levels must move together. It is time to ensure that not a single child of the nation is left behind from educational services,” said Lestari.