Bali student bodies issue seven groups of demands on education and wages

Udayana University — Student executive bodies from across Bali issued seven groups of demands on Thursday, November 5, calling for fairer development, improved education access and an evaluation of the province’s minimum-wage policy.

Why it matters: The demands do not immediately change services or wages, but they identify education, environmental management, public accountability and Bali’s minimum-wage evaluation as issues directed to provincial and local authorities.

The statement was delivered during a consolidation and reflection event at Udayana University’s Sudirman campus in Denpasar, according to Bali Post. The students addressed their demands to the Bali provincial government, regency and municipal governments, regional lawmakers and relevant agencies.

Education, environment and public services

The education demands include more evenly distributed school infrastructure and teachers, repairs to inadequate schools, improved learning facilities and protection for educators and school principals who raise education concerns.

The students also called for equal recognition of vocational education and equal employment opportunities for its graduates. Other demands covered road repairs, street lighting, drainage and culverts to reduce flood risks.

On the environment, the student bodies called for an integrated and sustainable response to waste problems, including at the Suwung waste disposal site. They also sought wider waste-sorting facilities, public education, stronger pollution controls and tighter oversight of agricultural land and water-catchment conversion.

Wages and government accountability

On economic issues, the students called for policies to reduce disparities between northern and southern Bali, protection for farmers through fair agricultural prices, stronger traditional markets and action to address the water crisis in Jimbaran.

They also demanded better handling of sexual violence, sexual harassment and drug distribution cases, stricter enforcement against dangerous traffic violations, and transparent follow-up to public complaints.

The statement included a request for the Bali government to evaluate the provincial minimum wage by considering decent-living needs, purchasing power and workers’ welfare. A separate report by IDN Times said a Bali civil-society action on the same date called for a provincial minimum wage of 5.2 million rupiah based on decent-living needs, but that figure was not identified in the Bali Post account of the university event.

The students urged the provincial and local governments, lawmakers and relevant agencies to take concrete steps in response. The demands also included stronger handling of forest and land fires in Kalimantan and public participation in regional decision-making.

Sources

• Bali Post
• IDN Times