TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsLack of classrooms, teachers put Batam’s special-needs students at risk
Lagat Paroha Siadari, head of the Riau Islands Ombudsman, said the agency’s investigation found that 30 special-needs children in Batam could not be admitted to public special-needs schools this year because the city’s only such school, Sekolah Luar Biasa Negeri (SLBN) Batam, lacks capacity.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Semester showdown: Elementary school students work on math exams on Dec. 9, 2025, during an end-of-semester assessment at Kedungkandang SLB C special-needs school for autism in Malang, East Java. A total of 155 students from the elementary, junior high and senior high levels took part in the exams, which also included self-development subjects. (Antara/Ari Bowl Sucipto)
D
ozens of students with special needs in Batam, Riau Islands, may be unable to continue their education due to a severe shortage of teachers and classrooms in the city.
Lagat Paroha Siadari, head of the Riau Islands Ombudsman, said the agency’s investigation found that 30 special-needs children in Batam could not be admitted to public special-needs schools this year because the city’s only such school, SLBN Batam, lacks capacity.
“Batam’s education policies are unbalanced, with too much focus on developing high schools and vocational schools. As a result, special education for students with disabilities receives insufficient attention in planning and budgeting," he said on Tuesday.
The Ombudsman also found that SLBN Batam is short of 32 teachers, well below the ideal staffing level of 59.
Classroom shortages were another concern. With only 15 classrooms available for 51 learning groups, three grade levels are forced to share a single room. Officials said this situation violates educational standards and undermines the quality of learning.
Read also: Pramono to introduce regulation for special needs education
Investigators also discovered that the school had been asking parents to contribute money to pay some teachers, in violation of regulations requiring that public school teachers be fully compensated by the government.
