Dozens Of SMPN In Tulungagung Lack Of Students, This Is The Cause

PPDB illustration (ANTARA)

TULUNGAGUNG - The process of accepting new students (PPDB) in Tulungagung Regency, East Java, has been completed a few days ago. Currently, parents are re-registing at the selected school.

However, a number of state junior high schools (SMPN) apparently still experience a shortage of students. Most of the schools that have not reached their student quota are located in the outskirts of Tulungagung Regency.

Based on data on the PPDB website, out of a total of 48 SMPN in Tulungagung Regency, 37 schools still lack students. There are even four schools whose number of registrants is below 10 people.

Head of the Tulungagung Regency Education Office, Rahadi Bintara, explained that there are several factors that make it difficult for schools to get students. The number of private schools and religious-based schools, as well as several schools that opened PPDB earlier, made many parents register their children with these schools.

In addition, SMPN, which lacks registrants, is located on the outskirts of Tulungagung Regency, so that it is not the main choice for prospective students.

"We will open the second batch of PPDB starting June 21, 2024, specifically for schools that lack students," said Rahadi Bintara, Friday, June 21.

Although the number of students who registered was small, the Tulungagung District Education Office did not plan to merge schools. According to Rahadi, the existence of these schools is part of the government's efforts to bring education services closer to the community.