An agreement for their return was reached on Saturday following negotiations taking place a day earlier between representatives of the students and the Social Affairs Ministry.

Among those who were involved were the ministry’s social services and rehabilitation directorate general secretary, Idit Supriadi, and Wyata Guna head Sudarsono.

The students immediately returned to their dormitories at the Wyata Guna center following the agreement. Volunteers, center employees and members of the public assisted the students with their belongings. They previously helped the students set up temporary tents and provided them with food and blankets.

Apart from being allowed to return to their dormitory, they also obtained catering services, which were initially suspended in August last year due to a lack of funding.

Their spokesperson, Elda Fahmi, lauded the authorities for allowing 32 students who were forcefully evicted from the center to return. However, the students still demanded to meet with Social Affairs Minister Juliari Batubara to urge him to revoke a 2018 ministerial regulation on the working procedure of social and rehabilitation services.

“This [meeting with the minister] is important so our disabled brothers and sisters can also receive social services,” Elda said.

Dozens of visually impaired students were forced to vacate their dormitory at the center last Tuesday in what the students described as a sudden eviction. They were forced to spend the night on a sidewalk in front of the center on Jl. Pajajaran.

The students claimed it all started from a change of nomenclature for the center, in reference to a 2018 Social Affairs Ministerial Decree on technical operations of social rehabilitation under the auspices of the ministry’s Social Rehabilitation Directorate General.

What was previously known as the Bina Netra Wyata Guna Social Institution was changed to BRSPDSN Wyata Guna following the new nomenclature, turning the social shelter into strictly a rehabilitation center, as claimed by the students.

The eviction began on Jan. 9 when employees at the rehabilitation center began clearing out rooms in the male wing of the dormitory, Elda said. He claimed the center would no longer offer services to visually impaired students other than for rehabilitation, which would only last for six months.

While the students claimed the management gave them only two weeks to find proper housing, the center claimed it had notified the students to move out in July last year.

Idit said the students were allowed to demand a meeting with the minister to voice their aspirations.

“However, we can’t just revoke a decree because there are certain procedures and rules pertaining to the revocation of a regulation,” he said in a statement.

Sudarsono said his office would ensure that the students, who had been living in the center before the decree was issued, be provided services until their graduation. He claimed that the students agreed to the provision.

“Therefore, they have the same rights as other beneficiaries,” Sudarsono said.

He added that the center would only provide social rehabilitation services of teaching work skills for the visually impaired for six months due to the new decree.

It also could not receive newcomers who wanted to enroll in formal education, as it became the responsibility of the regional administration according to the 2014 Regional Autonomy Law.

The students also demanded that the West Java administration provide basic social rehabilitation services for visually impaired residents across the province. (kuk)

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