Education Minister on West Java's School Hours Policy: Follow National Rules

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Abdul Mu'ti, has urged provincial, district, and municipal governments to adhere to ministry regulations regarding the organization of teaching and learning activities in primary and secondary education, including school start times.

He made the statement in response to reporters' questions about West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi's recent directive to change school start times.

"Here's the thing, we have ministry regulations on how long students should be at school. The number of school days is also regulated by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education," Abdul Mu'ti said at the ministry building on Tuesday, June 3, as quoted by Antara.

He expressed hope that regional governments would understand and align their policies with the ministry's current regulations. "Ideally, all parties understand that whatever their policies may be, we expect them to consistently refer to what has already been established by the ministry," he said.

School hours are regulated under the Regulation of the Minister of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia No. 23 of 2017 on School Days. "School Days are carried out for 8 (eight) hours in 1 (one) day or 40 (forty) hours over 5 (five) days in 1 (one) week," states Article 2, paragraph (1) of the regulation.

Furthermore, paragraph (2) specifies that this total includes break time: 0.5 hours per day or 2.5 hours over five days.

Previously, West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi instructed all regencies and cities in the province to implement earlier school hours, a Monday-to-Friday school week, and a curfew to restrict student activity at night. The changes were outlined in West Java Governor's Circular No. 51/PA.03/Disdik.

Dedi revealed that the earlier school start time had already been implemented in Purwakarta when he was regent. "It’s okay to start at 06:00 since the school week runs only until Friday," he said, as quoted in a West Java Public Relations press release on Friday, May 30, 2025.

Meanwhile, the nighttime activity curfew policy is set to take effect in June. "This rule will apply in June 2025, restricting students from engaging in activities outside the home between 21:00 and 04:00 WIB," said Dedi on Sunday, June 1, 2025.

Dedi's push for earlier school hours has drawn criticism from various parties. One of them is Ubaid Matraji, National Coordinator of the Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPI), who said that if the policy is forced, it could potentially harm students' physical and mental health. According to him, starting school at 6:00 is too early for students.

"Moreover," he added, "students need proper nutrition so they have the energy to take in lessons at school. Without adequate nutrition, children's concentration and focus will definitely be disrupted. This can negatively impact their mood and learning ability throughout the day," Ubaid told Tempo on Monday, June 2.

Further criticism came from the Indonesian Teachers and Education Association (P2G). Iman Zanatul Haeri, P2G's Head of Teacher Advocacy, said the 6:00 school-start policy needs more thorough study. He warned that the absence of proper research and technical guidelines could lead to problems during implementation.

"[Making policy] should not be based only on common sense, but must be supported by proper study," Iman said on Monday, June 2.

He also emphasized the difficulties teachers would face if teaching activities began earlier. In addition to having much less time to prepare, teachers who live far from school and rely on public transportation may struggle to arrive on time.

Ervana Trikanaputri, Dede Leni Mardianti, and Novali Panji contributed for this article.

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