Inclusive Justice During Emergencies: Covid-19 Reflections on The Right to Education for Children with Disabilities
Keywords:
disabilities, emergency, inclusive justice, right to education
Abstract
As a State party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), Indonesia is obligated to ensure the right to education for all children including children with disabilities in time of crisis. . In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Indonesia implemented a learning-from-home (BDR) policy through online platforms and provided free internet quotas. However, complex constraints in implementing this policy to children with disabilities preventing them from fully enjoying their right to education. This raises questions regarding Indonesia’s compliance with its international human rights obligations and the measures required to ensure effective fulfilment of this right during crises. This research employs a socio-legal approach, combining a review of relevant literature, analysis of legal instruments, in-depth interviews, and field studies conducted at Special Needs Schools (Sekolah Luar Biasa/SLB). The findings indicate that although the fulfilment of the right to education for children with disabilities during the pandemic was suboptimal, it does not necessarily constitute a violation of Indonesia’s obligations under international law. Nevertheless, stronger coordination and supervision involving local governments, schools, and parents are essential. The study further suggests that sanctions against local governments that fail to take maximum available measures, as required by law, should be considered.
References
Books
High Commissioner for Human Rights. (2020). Guidelines on access to justice for persons with disabilities. https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/tools-and-resources/guidelines-access-justice-persons-disabilities
Sen, A., (2009). The idea of justice. Harvard University Press., Office of the United Nations
BNPB, (2016), Pedoman Penetapan Status Darurat Bencana, Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana,
Officer of the United High Commissioner for Human Rights, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, (2005), Handbook for National Human Rights Institutions, New York and Geneva: United Nations
OHCHR, (2020), Guiding Principles on Access to Justice for Persons with Disabilities, New York and Geneva: United Nations
UNESCO, (2020), “INEQUITABLE IMPACT OF COVID-19 IN INDONESIA: EVIDENCE AND POLICY RESPONSE”
UNICEF, (2020), “Building Back Better: towards a disability-inclusive, accessible and sustainable post-COVID-19 world | UNICEF Indonesia”
UNICEF, (2020), Landscape Analysis on Children with Disabilities in Indonesia
Journals
Boon, H.J., Brown, L.H., Tsey, K., Speare, R., Pagliano, P., Usher, K. et al., (2011), 'School disaster planning for children with disabilities a critical review of the literature', International Journal of Special Education 26(3), 223-237.
Haryono, Ahmad Syaifudin, Sri Widiastuti, (2015), “Evaluasi Pendidikan Inklusif Bagi Anak Berkebutuhan Khusus (Abk) Di Provinsi Jawa Tengah”, Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan Vol. 32 Nomor 2 Tahun 2015, p.120-124.
Irradhiatul Jannah, Hermanto, (2022) “Implementation of Inclusive Education at Elementary Schools During the Covid-19 Pandemi”, Jurnal Prima Edukasia, 10 (2), 171-179, https://journal.uny.ac.id/index.php/jpe/article/view/48884/pdf_1
Minsih, M., Nandang, J. S., & Kurniawan, W. (2021). Problematika Pembelajaran Online Bagi Anak Berkebutuhan Khusus Di Sekolah Dasar Masa Pandemi Covid-19. Jurnal Basicedu, 5(3), 1252–1258. https://doi.org/10.31004/basicedu.v5i3.876
Rofiah, Nurul ., et.al., (2021) “Key Elements Of Disaster Mitigation Education In Inclusive School Setting In The Indonesian Context”, Jàmbá: Journal of Disaster Risk Studies vol.13 n.1 Cape Town 2021
Ronoh, S., Gaillard, J.C. & Marlowe, J., (2017), 'Children with disabilities in disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction: Focussing on school settings', Policy Futures in Education 15(3), 380-388,
That, K., Gaillard, J.C., Elizabeth, C., Akgungor, C. & Thanh, H., (2019), 'Expanding the capabilities of people with disabilities in disaster risk reduction', International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 34, 11-17
Quaill, J., Barker, R.N. & West, C., (2019), 'Experiences of people with physical disabilities before, during, and after tropical cyclones in Queensland', International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 39, 101-122
Sheehy, K., Vackova, P., van Manen, S., et al, (2022) ‘Inclusive disaster risk reduction education for Indonesian Children,’ International Journal of Inclusive Education. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13603116.2022.2115156
Legal Instruments
Law No.24/2007
ICESCR
ICCPR
UDHR
UNCRC
UNCRPD
Circular Letter (SE) of the Minister of Education and Culture No.4/2020 concerning the Implementation of Education Policies in the Emergency Period of the Spread of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)
Minister of Education and Culture Decree Number 719/P/2020 concerning Pedo,am Curriculum Implementation in Education Units in Special Conditions
letter number 423/9614-Set.Disdik issued by the West Java Provincial Education Office
SE No. 421/0318-Dindikbud/2022
SE of the Governor of West Java Number 72/KS.13/HUKHAM concerning the Implementation of Restrictions on Community Activities in Handling Coronavirus Disease 2019 in West Java Province and the SE of the Governor of West Java Number 133/KS.01.01/HUKHAM concerning the Enactment of Restrictions on Community Activities of Coronavirus Disease 2019
E-sources
Alston, P. (2019). Report of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights (A/74/48037). United Nations. https://undocs.org/A/74/48037
Alston, Philip ,(2019), UN Reports on Human Rights and Extreme Poverty
Antara, “Kemenko PMK: Kini sudah 44 ribu sekolah inklusi di tahun 2023, https://www.antaranews.com/berita/3758190/kemenko-pmk-kini-sudah-44-ribu-sekolah-inklusi-di-tahun-2023
Australian Governmen - Bappenas, (2021), “Covid-19 Impacts On People With Disabilities In Indonesia: An In-Depth Look”
Australian Government, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, (2021), One year into the pandemic: Socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19 and access to social protection for people with disabilities in Indonesia | Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Badan Pusat Statistik, (2022), “Jumlah Penduduk Berumur 5 Tahun ke Atas yang Mengalami Kesulitan Mengurus Diri Sendiri menurut Kelompok Umur, Daerah Perkotaan/Perdesaan, Jenis Kelamin, dan Sebab Kesulitan Mengurus Diri Sendiri, INDONESIA, Tahun 2022” https://sensus.bps.go.id/topik/tabular/sp2022/153/0/0
Centre of Data and Information Technology Ministry of Education and Culture, Jakarta, (2021) https://repositori.kemdikbud.go.id/22120/1/isi_3E73984D-07CD-40C7-9E81-3809CBC4081F_.pdf
Committee on the Rights of the Child, (2008), “Report of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on its General Discussion on the Right of the Child to Education in Emergencies Situation”, https://www.right-to-education.org/sites/right-to-education.org/files/resource-attachments/CRC_Report_Right_of_the_Child_to_Education_in_Emergencies_2008.pdf
Dina Afrianty, Slamet Thohari, Unita Werdi Rahajeng, Tommy H. Firmanda, Mahalli and Bima Pusaka Semedhi, (2020), "Decent Accommodation for Students with Disabilities during the Pandemic: The Teaching Experience of Teachers Learning from Home", Australia-Indonesia Disability Research and Advocacy Network La Trobe University and the Center for Disability Services Studies of Universitas Brawijaya , https://www.ksi-indonesia.org/assets/uploads/original/2020/08/ksi-1596761756.pdf
Inaya Rakhmani , (2023), in the Seminar 'Governance or Social Resilience: Learning from the Experience of Southeast Asia Facing Covid-19', Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Indonesia
Ministry of Education and Culture, (2020), "Ministry of Education and Culture Policy during the Pandemic", accessed through the https://gtk.kemdikbud.go.id/read-news/kebijakan-kemendikbud-di-masa-pandemi page
Ministry of Education and Culture, (2020) "Ministry of Education and Culture Issues Emergency Curriculum for Education Units in Special Conditions" August 12, 2020
Ministry of Education and Culture's Education Window, (2021) "Reallocation of the Ministry of Education and Culture's Budget for Pandemic Programs", December 58, 2021 Edition, accessed through the https://jendela.kemdikbud.go.id/v2/fokus/detail/realokasi-anggaran-kemendikbud-untuk-program-hadapi-pandemi page
Plan International, (2007), 1st year Tsunami Relief Programme, Bangkok-Jakarta.
The Covid-19 Handling Task Force, (2022) "Distribution Map", was accessed via the https://covid19.go.id/peta-sebaran page in March 2022
UNOHCHR,General Comment No. 13: The right to education (article 13) (1999), https://www.ohchr.org/en/resources/educators/human-rights-education-training/d-general-comment-no-13-right-education-article-13-1999
World Bank, (2024) “How Indonesia is Including Students with Disabilities in School in Rural Indonesia”, 8 February 2024, https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2024/02/08/how-indonesia-is-including-students-with-disabilities-in-school-in-rural-indonesia?
High Commissioner for Human Rights. (2020). Guidelines on access to justice for persons with disabilities. https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/tools-and-resources/guidelines-access-justice-persons-disabilities
Sen, A., (2009). The idea of justice. Harvard University Press., Office of the United Nations
BNPB, (2016), Pedoman Penetapan Status Darurat Bencana, Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana,
Officer of the United High Commissioner for Human Rights, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, (2005), Handbook for National Human Rights Institutions, New York and Geneva: United Nations
OHCHR, (2020), Guiding Principles on Access to Justice for Persons with Disabilities, New York and Geneva: United Nations
UNESCO, (2020), “INEQUITABLE IMPACT OF COVID-19 IN INDONESIA: EVIDENCE AND POLICY RESPONSE”
UNICEF, (2020), “Building Back Better: towards a disability-inclusive, accessible and sustainable post-COVID-19 world | UNICEF Indonesia”
UNICEF, (2020), Landscape Analysis on Children with Disabilities in Indonesia
Journals
Boon, H.J., Brown, L.H., Tsey, K., Speare, R., Pagliano, P., Usher, K. et al., (2011), 'School disaster planning for children with disabilities a critical review of the literature', International Journal of Special Education 26(3), 223-237.
Haryono, Ahmad Syaifudin, Sri Widiastuti, (2015), “Evaluasi Pendidikan Inklusif Bagi Anak Berkebutuhan Khusus (Abk) Di Provinsi Jawa Tengah”, Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan Vol. 32 Nomor 2 Tahun 2015, p.120-124.
Irradhiatul Jannah, Hermanto, (2022) “Implementation of Inclusive Education at Elementary Schools During the Covid-19 Pandemi”, Jurnal Prima Edukasia, 10 (2), 171-179, https://journal.uny.ac.id/index.php/jpe/article/view/48884/pdf_1
Minsih, M., Nandang, J. S., & Kurniawan, W. (2021). Problematika Pembelajaran Online Bagi Anak Berkebutuhan Khusus Di Sekolah Dasar Masa Pandemi Covid-19. Jurnal Basicedu, 5(3), 1252–1258. https://doi.org/10.31004/basicedu.v5i3.876
Rofiah, Nurul ., et.al., (2021) “Key Elements Of Disaster Mitigation Education In Inclusive School Setting In The Indonesian Context”, Jàmbá: Journal of Disaster Risk Studies vol.13 n.1 Cape Town 2021
Ronoh, S., Gaillard, J.C. & Marlowe, J., (2017), 'Children with disabilities in disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction: Focussing on school settings', Policy Futures in Education 15(3), 380-388,
That, K., Gaillard, J.C., Elizabeth, C., Akgungor, C. & Thanh, H., (2019), 'Expanding the capabilities of people with disabilities in disaster risk reduction', International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 34, 11-17
Quaill, J., Barker, R.N. & West, C., (2019), 'Experiences of people with physical disabilities before, during, and after tropical cyclones in Queensland', International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 39, 101-122
Sheehy, K., Vackova, P., van Manen, S., et al, (2022) ‘Inclusive disaster risk reduction education for Indonesian Children,’ International Journal of Inclusive Education. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13603116.2022.2115156
Legal Instruments
Law No.24/2007
ICESCR
ICCPR
UDHR
UNCRC
UNCRPD
Circular Letter (SE) of the Minister of Education and Culture No.4/2020 concerning the Implementation of Education Policies in the Emergency Period of the Spread of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)
Minister of Education and Culture Decree Number 719/P/2020 concerning Pedo,am Curriculum Implementation in Education Units in Special Conditions
letter number 423/9614-Set.Disdik issued by the West Java Provincial Education Office
SE No. 421/0318-Dindikbud/2022
SE of the Governor of West Java Number 72/KS.13/HUKHAM concerning the Implementation of Restrictions on Community Activities in Handling Coronavirus Disease 2019 in West Java Province and the SE of the Governor of West Java Number 133/KS.01.01/HUKHAM concerning the Enactment of Restrictions on Community Activities of Coronavirus Disease 2019
E-sources
Alston, P. (2019). Report of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights (A/74/48037). United Nations. https://undocs.org/A/74/48037
Alston, Philip ,(2019), UN Reports on Human Rights and Extreme Poverty
Antara, “Kemenko PMK: Kini sudah 44 ribu sekolah inklusi di tahun 2023, https://www.antaranews.com/berita/3758190/kemenko-pmk-kini-sudah-44-ribu-sekolah-inklusi-di-tahun-2023
Australian Governmen - Bappenas, (2021), “Covid-19 Impacts On People With Disabilities In Indonesia: An In-Depth Look”
Australian Government, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, (2021), One year into the pandemic: Socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19 and access to social protection for people with disabilities in Indonesia | Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Badan Pusat Statistik, (2022), “Jumlah Penduduk Berumur 5 Tahun ke Atas yang Mengalami Kesulitan Mengurus Diri Sendiri menurut Kelompok Umur, Daerah Perkotaan/Perdesaan, Jenis Kelamin, dan Sebab Kesulitan Mengurus Diri Sendiri, INDONESIA, Tahun 2022” https://sensus.bps.go.id/topik/tabular/sp2022/153/0/0
Centre of Data and Information Technology Ministry of Education and Culture, Jakarta, (2021) https://repositori.kemdikbud.go.id/22120/1/isi_3E73984D-07CD-40C7-9E81-3809CBC4081F_.pdf
Committee on the Rights of the Child, (2008), “Report of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on its General Discussion on the Right of the Child to Education in Emergencies Situation”, https://www.right-to-education.org/sites/right-to-education.org/files/resource-attachments/CRC_Report_Right_of_the_Child_to_Education_in_Emergencies_2008.pdf
Dina Afrianty, Slamet Thohari, Unita Werdi Rahajeng, Tommy H. Firmanda, Mahalli and Bima Pusaka Semedhi, (2020), "Decent Accommodation for Students with Disabilities during the Pandemic: The Teaching Experience of Teachers Learning from Home", Australia-Indonesia Disability Research and Advocacy Network La Trobe University and the Center for Disability Services Studies of Universitas Brawijaya , https://www.ksi-indonesia.org/assets/uploads/original/2020/08/ksi-1596761756.pdf
Inaya Rakhmani , (2023), in the Seminar 'Governance or Social Resilience: Learning from the Experience of Southeast Asia Facing Covid-19', Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Indonesia
Ministry of Education and Culture, (2020), "Ministry of Education and Culture Policy during the Pandemic", accessed through the https://gtk.kemdikbud.go.id/read-news/kebijakan-kemendikbud-di-masa-pandemi page
Ministry of Education and Culture, (2020) "Ministry of Education and Culture Issues Emergency Curriculum for Education Units in Special Conditions" August 12, 2020
Ministry of Education and Culture's Education Window, (2021) "Reallocation of the Ministry of Education and Culture's Budget for Pandemic Programs", December 58, 2021 Edition, accessed through the https://jendela.kemdikbud.go.id/v2/fokus/detail/realokasi-anggaran-kemendikbud-untuk-program-hadapi-pandemi page
Plan International, (2007), 1st year Tsunami Relief Programme, Bangkok-Jakarta.
The Covid-19 Handling Task Force, (2022) "Distribution Map", was accessed via the https://covid19.go.id/peta-sebaran page in March 2022
UNOHCHR,General Comment No. 13: The right to education (article 13) (1999), https://www.ohchr.org/en/resources/educators/human-rights-education-training/d-general-comment-no-13-right-education-article-13-1999
World Bank, (2024) “How Indonesia is Including Students with Disabilities in School in Rural Indonesia”, 8 February 2024, https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2024/02/08/how-indonesia-is-including-students-with-disabilities-in-school-in-rural-indonesia?
Published
2025-11-28
How to Cite
Dewi, C., Viola, B., & Christianti, D. W. (2025). Inclusive Justice During Emergencies: Covid-19 Reflections on The Right to Education for Children with Disabilities. Jurnal Poros Hukum Padjadjaran, 7(1), 49-78. https://doi.org/10.24198/jphp.v7i1.2346
Section
Articles
Copyright (c) 2025 Chloryne Dewi, Benita Viola, Diajeng Wulan Christianti
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
