Alfitria Nefi P, Juli Hantoro, Jakarta – The Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPI) found that 43.9 percent of teachers became actors of violence against students in schools. This data is based on reports of violence in the education sector collected by JPPI throughout 2024.
"We grouped it so that the highest number of perpetrators was teachers," said the National Coordinator of the Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPI) Ubaid Matraji at Bakoel Koffie, Cikini, Central Jakarta, Friday, December 27, 2024.
Apart from acting as perpetrators, teachers are also prone to being targets of violence in the education sector.
He revealed that 10.2 percent of teachers in Indonesia were victims of violence. Students committed the cases of violence, cases of beatings by parents, and criminalization of teachers.
Ubaid said there was an increase in violence in schools by 100 percent within one year. Previously in 2023 there were 285 cases of violence in schools, this figure rose to 573 cases throughout 2024.
He said the behavior of teachers who still use violence as a form of discipline against students has implications for this upward trend.
"Part of the sanctions and so on, but it leads to perpetrators of violence," said Ubaid.
On the other hand, the Head of the Center for Education Standards and Policy at the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, Irsyad Zamjani, said that disciplinary methods in corporal punishment legitimize violence in the education sector. He said students tend to see violence committed by teachers to discipline them as acceptable and can be applied to fellow students.
"It will become a justification for violent practices with different purposes," said Irsyad.
Apart from teachers, the proportion of perpetrators of violent acts committed by school security officers; parents; seniors; school gangs; and the community amounted to 39.9 percent. Meanwhile, acts of violence committed by fellow students amounted to 13.6 percent.