76,580 SPMB Accounts for Senior High Schools in Riau Activated

Public enthusiasm for the New Student Admission System (SPMB) for state senior high and vocational schools in Riau Province for the 2026/2027 academic year continues to rise. As of Friday (12/6), a total of 76,580 accounts have been activated in the government’s online registration system. Of this number, 63,820 prospective students, or about 83 percent, are still holding firm on their first-choice school. Meanwhile, 8,221 participants have shifted their choice to the second option, and only 626 participants have utilised the third choice. The data indicates that the majority of participants are still attempting to secure a place at their preferred school, while movement to subsequent choices remains relatively low.

Riau SPMB Technical Team member Jeffri Hunter stated that overall, the SPMB implementation up to the fourth day has been safe and smooth. The online registration system is also accessible to the public without significant technical obstacles. “To date, 76,580 accounts are active. Of that number, 63,820 prospective students have selected a school as their first choice. Then 8,221 participants have used the second choice, while only 626 have chosen up to the third option. This means movement is still dominated by the second choice, while the third choice has not been widely used,” Jeffri said on Sunday (14/6).

He explained that the biggest challenge currently faced does not originate from the system, but rather from the public’s understanding of the administrative requirements that must be fulfilled when registering. One frequently encountered issue relates to achievement documents used for the achievement pathway. For national and international level certificates, the documents must be registered with the National Achievement Centre so that the verification process can be carried out easily. For achievements at the district/city or provincial level, participants must complete the certificate with a decree or winner’s certificate issued by the organising committee or institution. “This is to anticipate certificates being duplicated. If it is only a certificate, it is somewhat difficult for the school verifier to ascertain its validity because duplication is possible,” he said.

Besides certificate issues, the use of the family card (KK) also remains one of the most frequently asked questions by parents of prospective students. He stressed that for the domicile and affirmation pathways, the KK must correspond to the target school’s area and must have been issued at least one year prior to registration. “If the KK is from another district and you want to register at a school in Pekanbaru through the domicile or affirmation pathway, it is certainly not possible. For this pathway, the KK must match the target school’s area and be at least one year old,” he said. For the achievement pathway, there is no minimum one-year validity requirement for the KK. However, participants must still register in an area that matches the address listed on the KK. “If your KK is Pekanbaru, please register at a school in Pekanbaru. But if the KK is from outside Pekanbaru and you register at a school in Pekanbaru via the achievement pathway, that is not allowed,” he stated. He added that this policy aims to maintain equitable quality of education and provide space for high-achieving students to develop in their respective regions.

Since the registration phase opened on 8 June, the committee has assessed that the level of public participation is quite high. Therefore, parents and prospective students are urged to carefully study all requirements listed in the SPMB technical guidelines so that the verification process can proceed more quickly and avoid administrative obstacles. “The goal is so that high-achieving children can still develop in their own regions. Do not let everyone move and become concentrated in Pekanbaru,” he concluded.