Viral Claims of Religious Discrimination at Yogyakarta High School Denied by Education Agency

A narrative circulating on social media claimed that students of a particular religion at a state senior high school in Yogyakarta experienced discrimination. The Yogyakarta Education, Youth, and Sports Agency (Disdikpora) confirmed it immediately cross-checked the report with schools across the region.

The claim was posted by the Instagram account @merapi_uncover. The post contained a complaint from someone claiming to be a student at a state high school in the Special Region of Yogyakarta, who felt inadequately accommodated during religious education lessons. The complaint did not disclose the name of the school or the sender. However, it explained that students of a certain religion who used the library and later the meeting or guest room were forced to leave whenever there was a meeting or guests.

‘The children were forced to study outdoors or in the schoolyard. Recently, they were even asked to move suddenly during lesson time because the room was needed for a meeting. Communication from the school also felt less than conducive when asking them to move, so it seemed as if they were being evicted, even though the children just wanted to study in peace,’ the post’s caption stated, as seen by detikJogja on Monday (27/7). ‘We request the attention of the relevant parties or the education agency, because all students in state schools have equal rights to comfortable and proper classroom facilities regardless of their religion,’ it continued.

When asked for confirmation, the Head of the Senior High School Development Division at Disdikpora DIY, Tukiman, stated that his office moved quickly once the narrative went viral on social media. ‘Since last night, yesterday afternoon, last night, and then this morning, I have coordinated with the Heads of the Secondary Education Centres in all regencies and cities across DIY, and then with all school principals across DIY, especially city school principals,’ Tukiman said when met at the Disdikpora DIY Office today.

‘And all those schools stated that every school has already prepared room facilities; they are all in place. We have been cross-checking since this morning, and I asked for their reports one by one. They have all reported that facilities for religious learning rooms, both for Islam and non-Islam, are available,’ he added. Tukiman noted that the cross-check was conducted at all 69 state senior high schools in DIY, in line with the information from the news circulating on social media. ‘I am certain that the social media report is wrong, because we have cross-checked directly with our fellow school principals,’ Tukiman asserted.

Tukiman expressed regret that his office learned of this matter from social media. He hoped that the student concerned would report directly to his office with complete details. ‘There is a hotline for reports. Online reporting is also possible via WhatsApp and email. We do have a channel for complaints. We will keep it confidential; we will not disclose it. That is part of our check and balance mechanism for improving the service system,’ Tukiman said. ‘If there is a public report, we will follow it up immediately. We will summon the school principal, cross-check whether the report is true. If it is true, the service must be improved. If the report is incorrect, then the complainant needs to be corrected,’ he concluded.