Student Dies from Tight Shoes, DPR Member: An Alarm for Education!

JAKARTA - Deputy Chairman of DPR Commission X, Lalu Hadrian Irfani, views the death of a vocational high school student in Samarinda due to his too-small shoes as an alarm regarding education in Indonesia.

“We view this incident as an important alarm for the national education system to be more sensitive to the overall welfare of students,” Lalu stated in his remarks on Tuesday (5/5/2026).

He also called for a medical investigation into the cause of the student’s death.

“The suspicion that wearing already too-small shoes contributed to swelling leading to a fatal outcome certainly needs to be thoroughly investigated medically,” he said.

Additionally, the possibility of delayed access to healthcare services also exacerbated the condition.

“A school should not only be a place of learning but must also have mechanisms for early detection of students’ health and social conditions, including ensuring that no student faces limitations in basic equipment,” he explained.

“Commission X always pushes for the strengthening of policies that ensure every child, without exception, receives a safe, healthy, and humane learning environment, so that similar cases do not recur,” he stressed.

Mandala Rizky Syahputra (16 years old), a second-year student at a vocational high school in Samarinda, passed away on Friday (24/4/2026).

He breathed his last due to health complications that began with his too-small school shoes.

Mandala’s condition worsened while he was undergoing an internship programme at one of the shopping centres in Samarinda.

The infection in his foot spread, causing a drastic decrease in his appetite, resulting in his body becoming emaciated.

Mandala then passed away while sleeping.