Allegations of Seat Buying at Favoured Primary School Surface, Mataram Education Office Responds

The Mataram City Education Office (Disdik) has stressed that there is no practice of seat buying or illegal levies (pungli) in the New Student Admission Selection (SPMB) for the 2026/2027 academic year. The assertion was made following an issue involving an individual suspected of offering a backdoor route or seat buying to prospective parents at one of the favoured state primary schools (SD) in Mataram City. “There is no such term as seat selling. So I assure you there is no seat selling, no illegal levies,” stressed the Acting Head of the Mataram City Education Office, Lalu Martawang, when confirmed on Wednesday (17/6/2026). Martawang urged the public to report immediately if they encounter such fraudulent practices. Prospective parents were also asked to gather complete evidence and data so that the matter can be followed up. “Report it immediately, complete the data about it. Later we will ask colleagues from law enforcement to take steps regarding all of that,” Martawang said. The Mataram City Education Office guarantees that the entire new student admissions process is clean from illegal levies. If an internal party is found to be involved, the office will take firm action. Meanwhile, if the perpetrator is from outside the institution, it is confirmed to be a fraudulent scheme. “We ensure there is no pungli. No party at all, and I am responsible for that, within our element is offering what was reported. So if there is something like that internally, it is an individual. If it is from outside, then it is fake,” he stressed. Meanwhile, a prospective parent admitted to receiving an offer to buy a seat at one of the favoured primary schools in Mataram City. The individual allegedly offered one seat for Rp 6 million per child. “Offered Rp 6 million for one seat, and that is just for the seat, not yet paying for other things,” one parent told detikBali on Wednesday. The parent admitted initially only seeking information about registration pathways other than the domicile route. However, during the conversation, an offer to purchase a school seat emerged instead. “Initially I was just asking, if not through the domicile route, what other pathways could we take to register. It turned out he offered seat buying,” the parent continued.