Speaker Puan urges government to evaluate schools facing student shortages

Speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) Puan Maharani has asked the government, through the relevant ministries, to evaluate and restructure education services following a surge in schools facing pupil shortages in a number of regions.

Speaking in Jakarta on Wednesday, Puan said the government must first map out the causes of the phenomenon before determining how to address it, so that the policies adopted match conditions on the ground.

“Is this truly a general phenomenon occurring nationwide, or merely isolated cases in certain regions? Identifying the problem is necessary so that the response matches what is actually happening,” she said.

According to her, the phenomenon of schools lacking pupils can be influenced by various factors, such as a decline in the number of school-age children, population movement, a distribution of schools that no longer matches settlement development, and eroding public confidence in the quality of state school services.

She urged the government to promptly draw up a national map of education unit needs based on villages and districts, integrating data on the number of school-age children, birth trends, settlement development, school capacity, travel distances, geographical conditions and population projections for at least the next 10 years.

She said such a map should serve as the basis for deciding which schools need to be revitalised, developed into reference schools, merged, or retained because they play a strategic role in community access to education.

“Efficiency policies must not sacrifice children’s rights. If merging schools is deemed the option, the government must first ensure the availability of safe school transport,” she said.

Meanwhile, in Sleman Regency, Special Region of Yogyakarta, around 60 schools are still short of new pupils even after the New Student Admission System (SPMB) period has ended.