West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi's Policy On Prevention Of School Dropouts Does Not Touch The Roots Of Problems

West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi spoke with students while attending the release of participants in the National Character and Defense Development program at the Headquarters of the 1st Kostrad Infantry Division, Cilodong, Depok City, West Java (9/6/2025). (ANTARA)

JAKARTA The West Java Provincial Government's plan to reduce the high number of school dropouts through the policy of increasing student quotas per class has drawn criticism.

West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi issued a regulation regarding the addition of student quotas to overcome school dropouts. The regulation is contained in the Decree of the Governor of West Java Province No. 463.1/Kep/323-Disdik/2025 concerning Technical Guidelines for the Prevention of Dropout Children at the Middle Education Level in West Java Province.

One of the points in the spotlight in the policy is that Dedi Mulyadi requested that the education unit receive as many as 50 students.

The Education and Teacher Association (P2G) assesses that Dedi Mulyadi's policy of allowing 50 students in one class is actually a counterproductive step that has the potential to damage the quality and overall education ecosystem.

"We assess that bringing 50 high school students into one class is actually a short-term instant solution," said Head of P2G Advocacy Division Iman Zanatul Haeri in his official statement to VOI.

Data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in 2023 shows that there are still many Indonesian children who have dropped out of school at various levels of education. The results of the National Socio-Economic Survey (Susenas) in March 2023 published in the 2023 Education Statistics revealed that nationally the number of dropouts was getting higher at a higher level of education.

According to BPS, the dropout rates at the elementary level are 0.11 percent, SMP 0.98 percent, and SMA 1.03 percent.

Meanwhile, West Java is at the top of the provincial list with the highest percentage of dropping out of elementary schools in Indonesia. Based on BPS data until June 2025, there were 612,782 people dropping out of school in West Java. This list was then followed by East Java and Central Java.

Although there are many factors that cause children to drop out of school, if you refer to a book entitled Education for National Development of Mohammad Ali's work, data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) shows that the majority (76 percent) of families state that the main cause of their children dropping out of school is due to economic reasons.

Children often experience problems with the family's economy, so they have to sacrifice the level of education they should be happy with to work to support their families.

West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi also made another regulation to address the problem of children dropping out of school in West Java, one of which was by allowing state high schools (SMA) to receive a maximum of 50 students per class.

But this policy has drawn criticism from various circles. Placing 50 students in one class is not the right solution to reduce school dropouts. This policy is actually called the point of putting children in prison.

Despite appreciating the good faith behind the policy, P2G emphasized that the solution offered is a short-term instant solution that ignores far greater negative impacts for students, teachers, and educational institutions.

Iman Zanatul Haeri said this policy did not actually touch the root of complex school dropout problems, such as early marriage, extreme poverty, children dealing with the law, or children who have become workers.

"Children dropping out of school in West Java are worried that there will be around 658 thousand. We assess that bringing 50 high school students into one class is actually a short-term instant solution," said Iman.

With 50 people crammed into classrooms ideally designed for 36, Iman assessed that learning conditions would not be effective.

"Classes will feel happy, like prisons. Classes become stuffy, the sound of teachers is not heard especially if students are noisy, classes are not conducive, and student interactions are very limited," he added.

This policy also openly violates the central government regulation, namely Permendikbudristek Number 47 of 2023 and the Decree of the Head of BSKAP Number 071/H/M/2024, which explicitly limits the study group at the SMA/SMK level to a maximum of 36 students.

Meanwhile, P2G National Coordinator Satriwan Salim assessed that this policy was actually a threat to private schools. With the concentration of students who accumulate in public schools, private schools will significantly lose potential registrants.

P2G gave an example of SMA Bhakti Putra Indonesia in South Garut which only received 13 registrants and SMA Pasundan in Tasikmalaya who only got 4 prospective students.

"Don't let the West Java Governor's policy of 'kill' private schools slowly, which have been fighting together to educate the nation's life," said Satriwan.

Similarly, the General Chairperson of the West Java Province Senior High School Principal Forum, Ade D. Hendriana, also objected to the policy because it contradicted the minister's rules regarding the area of classrooms and the maximum number.

In addition, Ade is also worried that the impact will make many private schools closed because they are not given room to compete.

"The policy will clash public and private schools so that there is the potential for an increasingly sharp social gap in the world of education," he said.

Ade said that the admission of students at high school and public vocational schools for children who were prevented from dropping out of school was a new rule outside the discussion and implementation of the SPMB, which the process is now almost complete. He said this policy has the potential to create students entrusted, and reduce public trust in the SPMB.

"If the prevention of dropping out of school children is carried out, it is not in accordance with the standard operating procedures of the SPMB because of the appearance at the end," he said.