Indonesia's DPR urges action on school dropouts and child protection

Chairperson of the House of Representatives Puan Maharani warned that roughly 6,000 children have left school in Bogor, part of a national count of nearly four million out‑of‑school youths. She said the primary cause is low motivation rather than lack of access, and called for the reduction of out‑of‑school numbers to be treated as a strategic national development indicator.

Commission X Chairman Hetifah Sjaifudian asked all education units, including pesantren, to strengthen child‑protection systems amid rising cases of physical and sexual abuse and growing digital‑linked human‑trafficking threats. She advocated the creation of dedicated school task forces to detect abuse early, ensure safe reporting, provide psychological support, and improve digital literacy and inter‑agency coordination.