Jakarta – The Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) has revealed that most day care facilities in the country are unlicensed, taking cases in Depok, West Java, and Pekanbaru, Riau, as samples.
"We found that many day care centers in Indonesia are unlicensed," KPAI commissioner Diyah Puspitarini said on Monday, as quoted by Kompas.com, adding that only 12 out of 110 of such facilities in Depok were licensed.
In Pekanbaru, none of the existing day care centers were operating with official permission, Diyah continued.
This finding came after the recent separate incidents of child abuse at day care facilities in Depok and Pekanbaru that have put a negative spotlight on childcare services in the country.
The KPAI said the government should immediately create regulations on how day care facilities should operate, including to obtain licenses first, to prevent child abuse cases from recurring.
Diyah explained that day cares in the countries fall under the jurisdiction of several government institutions, namely the Education, Culture, Research and Technology Ministry, the Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry and the Social Affairs Ministry.
The majority of the unlicensed day care centers were under the control of the education ministry, she went on. The KPAI has scheduled a visit to the ministry on Tuesday, as well as a gathering with two other institutions, to discuss the matter.
Last week, a video clip uploaded to the Instagram account of Ayasophia Achmad (@phy_losophy) showed a child with their feet taped to a high chair at a day care center in Pekanbaru, alleging that the tape was removed only when it was time for the child to go home.
The Pekanbaru Police have named the day care owner, identified only by the initials WF, as a suspect of child abuse after they questioned several witnesses and gathered evidence, including the viral footage.
Earlier this month, the Depok Police detained the owner of Wensen School Indonesia, identified as MI, and charged her under the 2014 Child Protection Law for allegedly assaulting a 2-year-old and a 9-month-old entrusted to her care at the preschool. (jan)