Jakarta City Council's Legislative Body (Bapemperda) Chairman, Abdul Aziz has said that Draft Bylaw on Education Management would encourage the development of more Special Schools (SLB) in Jakarta.

According to him, the finalized draft bylaws were developed based on the aspirations of the city's residents, especially from parents of children with disabilities.

"So, we ask for support and prayers from the community, hoping that this draft bylaw can encompass all their aspirations and provide better educational facilities, especially free education for all residents," he expressed, Tuesday (10/7).

He explained, during the drafting process of the bylaws, they received many suggestions for the government to intensify the construction of SLBs. Currently, schools for children with special needs are only available at the administrative city level.

"We receive aspirations from the community, especially those with children with disabilities. They conveyed that the number of disability schools in Jakarta is still very limited," he explained.

He added, the limited number of special schools often makes it difficult for children with disabilities to attend school and even at risk of dropping out due to the long distance.

"For instance, there is a child who has to go to Cengkareng for school, but they can't ride a motorcycle alone. This needs to be a concern. The government needs to make breakthroughs, thus special schools can be more numerous and easily accessible," he added.

He assessed, in the future, ideally, special schools should be available in at least every district to ensure equal access to education for children with disabilities.

"If it can't be implemented in all sub-districts, at least a pilot project should be made in sub-districts with a high number of children with disabilities. That way, parents with disabled children will have the same opportunity to send their children to school as other children," he closed.