700 Thousand Papuan Children Allegedly Not in School, Commission X DPR: State Responsibility to Ensure the Right to Education

JAKARTA - Deputy Chairman of Commission X of the House of Representatives, Lalu Hadrian Irfani, responded to a report regarding the alleged 700,000 children in Papua who did not go to school.

He emphasized that the state is responsible for fulfilling the basic rights of citizens to receive education.

"Information about the alleged 700 thousand Papuan children who do not go to school cannot be taken lightly. This concerns the responsibility of the state in ensuring the right to education for all children of the nation," said Lalu Hadrian to reporters, Thursday, December 18.

However, the head of the education commission assessed that the data needed to be carefully examined and verified thoroughly, so that there would be no errors in policy making.

He also asked the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen), local governments, to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), to cross-check data to obtain accurate and accountable data.

"The validity of data is the key to ensuring that the policies taken are truly targeted," he said.

Apart from the validity of the data, the PKB legislator from the West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) II Dapil emphasized that access to education in Papua is a fact that cannot be ignored. He said, various structural challenges such as limited infrastructure, teacher distribution, to geographical conditions are still the main obstacles.

"So the state must be present to ensure that Papuan children receive a decent, inclusive, and equitable education service," he said.

As a partner of the Ministry of Education and Culture, Commission X of the DPR urges the government to use this finding as an opportunity to strengthen affirmative action policies in the Papua education sector.

This step, according to him, includes improving the distribution of teachers, increasing educational facilities and infrastructure, and strengthening synergy between the central and regional governments.

"The goal is one, so that the right to education for Papuan children is really fulfilled in reality, not just on paper," concluded Lalu.

Previously, President Prabowo Subianto paid attention to reports that 700 thousand Papuan children were not in school.

This was revealed by the Minister of Home Affairs (Mendagri) Tito Karnavian, when he delivered a report from the Manokwari Regent, Hermus Indou, at a meeting related to the acceleration of Papua development held at the Palace, Jakarta, Tuesday, December 16.

"Regarding the problem of the 700,000 information, the Papuan child said he had not gone to school or was not in school, that was information from the Manokwari Regent, yes, according to one of the regional heads, according to one of the information sources," said Tito after attending a meeting with Prabowo and regional heads across Papua.