35 State Primary Schools in Temanggung Face Pupil Shortage, One School Has Zero New Enrolments
The Education, Youth, and Sports Office (Disdikpora) of Temanggung Regency, Central Java, has recorded a phenomenon of low enrolment during this year’s New Pupil Admission System (SPMB). A total of 35 State Primary Schools (SDN) in the region received a maximum of five new pupils, with one school reportedly receiving no new pupils at all.
The Head of the Primary School Development Division at the Temanggung Disdikpora, Pamudji Santoso, revealed that out of 435 state primary schools spread across Temanggung Regency, 35 educational units had very low numbers of new pupils. The number of registrants at these dozens of schools ranged from five, four, three, and two pupils, down to zero registrants.
“The one school that received no new pupils at all is SDN Ketitang II in Jumo District,” Pamudji stated in Temanggung on Tuesday (14/7/2026).
Pamudji stressed that the low pupil numbers at these schools were not caused by poor education quality or school facilities. Based on the office’s investigation, the main cause is a demographic factor, namely the low number of school-age children in the areas surrounding these schools.
For example, SDN Ketitang II only serves one hamlet, which currently has almost no prospective primary school-age pupils. “After investigation, there are indeed no primary school-age children in that hamlet. So it is not because of the school’s quality, but because the population is small,” he explained.
Currently, the total number of pupils at SDN Ketitang II is only around 23 across all grade levels. Although the Disdikpora provided an extended registration period, the school still failed to attract any new pupils.
In response to this situation, the Temanggung Regency Government has actually considered a regrouping or school merger policy. However, Pamudji explained that this measure cannot be applied uniformly across all areas due to geographical constraints.
In several areas, such as Ketitang Village in Jumo District and Kemiriombo Village in Gemawang District, the distance between schools is considered too far. A school merger is feared to complicate transport access and pupil mobility to the new school.