Recorded in Decile 9, Becak Driver Timbul Confused About Applying for Child's Tuition Relief

Motorised becak driver Timbul (49), a resident of Lendah, Kulon Progo, was shocked to learn that he is recorded in decile 9. He had intended to apply for tuition relief for his child at Yogyakarta State University (UNY) and was left confused.

Timbul discovered this when he visited the Lendah sub-district office two weeks ago to obtain a certificate of indigence (SKTM) as a requirement for applying for relief and a scholarship. Timbul said his eldest child, Lucky, was accepted at UNY through the independent admission route.

He must pay an entrance fee of Rp15 million. He therefore intended to apply for relief or a scholarship through the Indonesia Smart Programme (PIP).

“I wanted to use PIP and apply for a scholarship. I went to the village office to get an SKTM, but it turned out that after the village head checked, my decile was 9,” Timbul said when met at his residence on Monday (24/8/2026).

Timbul was surprised because he was usually recorded in decile 1 or 2. He said he still received basic food assistance around the beginning of last year.

“Previously I did not know that my decile had risen. It used to be decile 1, or at most 2, I think, because I never saw it. But I kept receiving assistance, social assistance. That means my decile was either 1 or 2,” he said.

“The last time I received PKH social assistance was about four or six months ago. It was in the form of basic food assistance, and for poor people with school-age children it was around Rp1.1 million,” Timbul continued.

Timbul works as a bentor driver in Malioboro with an uncertain income of around Rp100,000 per day. He also occasionally sells his reared chickens.

He lives at home with his two children after separating from his wife. They live in a house with permanent walls and ceramic floors. However, he said the house is an inheritance from his parents.

“The house belongs to the family and has not been divided. It is in my father’s name. My father and mother have passed away. It is to be divided among seven siblings,” Timbul said.

Timbul hopes to obtain an SKTM to apply for his child’s tuition relief. He has also tried to ask sub-district officials about the increase in his decile.

“I approached the census officer after learning that my decile had risen. It was recent, less than a week ago. I asked about the decile, and the answer was, ‘We have nothing to do with social assistance, sir’,” Timbul added.

Regarding the matter, Acting Head of BPS DIY Endang Tri Wahyuningsih said her office has carried out verification. She said a change in decile is still possible.

“The person concerned works as a bentor driver and has a small business raising chickens. The house he occupies is his own. A change in decile is still possible if verification finds conditions that do not match previous data,” Endang said at a press conference at BPS DIY on Tuesday (24/8).