New Minister Of Regulation, New Student Admission System Hopefully Solve Problems

JAKARTA - The election of Abdul Mu'ti as Minister of Basic and Secondary Education replacing Mendikbudristek Nadim Makariem, gave birth to a new policy. The New Student Admission System (SPBM), which was originally with the zoning system, has changed again. Can this change solve the classic problem that has existed so far?

National Coordinator of the Education and Teacher Association (P2G) Satriwan Salim assessed that the elimination of the zoning system actually provides more harm to students. P2G doubts that this new system will solve the main and classical problems that have occurred in the Revenue of New Students or PPDB so far.

The new minister, the new regulations. Indonesians seem to be very familiar with all the reshuffles of a system when the change of officials is carried out. Just like now, when the government has reshuffled the student admission system for the upcoming new school year.

PPDB has officially changed its name to the New Student Admission System (SPMB) starting in 2025/2026, as stated by the Minister of Elementary and Secondary Education Abdul Mu'ti. This change only applies to junior high and high school levels.

In this SPMB, there will be four new student admissions flow as a substitute for the PPDB system. One of them is that the zoning system is changed to domicile.

"We convey that there are four new student admissions, the first is domicile or where students live, the second is achievement, the third is affirmation path, and the fourth is mutation route," said Abdul Mu'ti at a press conference in Jakarta, Thursday (30/1).

He said that this system change is expected to create a more transparent, objective, high accountability, and more inclusive student admission system for all prospective students.

However, the public already doubts that the government's good intentions will run smoothly according to plan. Because as happened before, officials in Indonesia often only carry out system reshuffles or bureaucratic terms but without substantial changes.

Eight years ago the PPDB zoning system took effect in the first period of Joko Widodo serving as President of Indonesia, with Muhadjir Effendy serving as Minister of Education and Culture (Mendikbud).

One of the PPDB routes is through a zoning system, which is implemented in the hope of removing the dichotomy between superior schools and ordinary schools. But in practice, this system actually gives birth to new frauds ranging from domicile manipulation to school quality inequality.

At every moment the PPDB of the same fraud is always repeated. Therefore, the Ministry of Education and Culture promised the SPMB would cover the shortage of PPDB. One of the significant changes is changing the zoning system with the domicile system.

The new student admission zoning system refers to distance, while the domicile system refers more to student areas and schools. The domicile system is intended for prospective students who live within the administrative area set by the local government according to their authority.

P2G appreciates the Ministry of Education and Culture's intention to improve the new student admission system, which for the past eight years has faced relatively the same classic problem.

However, P2G assesses that this new system has not resolved fundamental problems in access and equitable education.

"We finally appreciate that the government through the Ministry of Education and Culture maintains the zoning route even though it has changed its domicile name. Even the affirmation route received an additional quota of 20 percent in junior high schools and 30 percent in high schools. This opens up wider opportunities for poor families to attend public schools," said Kornas P2G Satriwan Salim in a statement received by VOI.

Satriwan added that the change in the student admission system this year was merely a change in terms, so it had not yet touched the main problem, namely the inequality in the number and quality of schools.

In addition, P2G also criticized the addition of the achievement path quota. According to Satriwan, this can create new inequality. With the increase in the achievement path quota to 30 percent at the high school level and 25 percent at the junior high school level, there are concerns that schools will prioritize prospective students from the achievement path.

"The significant addition of the achievement path in SMP and SMA raises concerns, namely that later schools will only prioritize prospective students from the achievement path, so that prospective students from the domicile and affirmation channels will be eliminated, unable to attend public schools," said Satriwan.

Another concern regarding the addition of the achievement path is that the label 'seeded school' or 'favored school' will reappear which gives birth to inequality in education services for children.

P2G assesses that the main issue of the SPMB system will continue to emerge and will cause new discrimination against children's rights to access education and schools.

There are three basic problems that have not been handled in the PPDB system. The first is related to the number and distribution of public schools and the uneven quality of education in various parts of Indonesia.

Satriwan said, there are areas where public schools are unable to accommodate prospective students because classrooms are limited, while the number of prospective students is greater. Major cities such as Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Bogor, and others often experience this phenomenon.

But in other areas, there are also schools that lack students and there are not even students who register, such as what happened in Solo, Jepara, Sragen, Gunung Kidul, Semarang Regency, and others.

This happened because the distance between public schools and student homes was too far away, inadequate transportation, damaged road access, so parents chose private schools or madrasas near home.

The problem of accepting new students which is always repeated every year, said Satriwan, occurs because this problem is only a matter of one ministry, namely the Ministry of Education and Culture. Even though the issue of SPMB or PPDB also concerns the distribution of school buildings, school facilities, distribution of school-age children, family card documents (residents), road infrastructure access, transportation modes, internet, madrasas involvement, and others. All are issues that should involve cross-ministerial and local governments (Pemda).

"There should be comprehensive solutions that are the responsibility of across ministries, such as the Ministry of PUPR, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Transportation, Komdigi, Ministry of Religion, in addition to the Ministry of Education and the Regional Government, so that school infrastructure inequality can be resolved," Satriwan concluded about the New Student Admission System.