Central Java Provincial Government Inaugurates the First SMA Negeri on the Slopes of Merapi

The completion of SMA Negeri 1 Kemalang marks a milestone following the Central Java Provincial Government’s completion of the school’s construction. The school, inaugurated by Governor Ahmad Luthfi, is the only state senior high school in the area.

Luthfi stated that the construction of SMAN 1 Kemalang is part of an effort to equalise education across Central Java. He said the presence of the school also demonstrates the state’s commitment to educating the life of the nation.

Moreover, the project addresses the needs of communities in areas that previously lacked access to the nearest state senior high school. In its first intake, SMAN 1 Kemalang opened three learning groups (rombel).

“This is part of educating for an equal distribution of SMA education,” Luthfi said in a written statement on Tuesday (19 May 2026).

Luthfi noted that education is one of the instruments and indicators of citizens’ welfare. Therefore, educational facilities must be accessible to all sections of society.

Beyond SMAN 1 Kemalang, the Central Java Provincial Government is also building four additional school units in other districts that have been operating since the 2025/2026 academic year. The schools are SMAN 1 Garung Wonosobo, SMAN 6 Kota Tegal, SMKN 1 Karangjambu Purbalingga, and SMKN 1 Tulis Batang.

Each new school unit has a capacity of 108 students. Accordingly, the total capacity of the five schools amounts to 540 students.

The commitment to equalising access to education is also pursued through a partnership school programme with 139 private schools in Central Java. This programme has a capacity of 5,004 students. In addition, the Central Java Provincial Government also operates the Sekolah Keberbakatan Olahraga and SMK Negeri Jateng.

“I feel proud that, amid fiscal constraints, we are still able to provide a decent education for children,” he said.

Head of the Central Java Education Office, Sadimin, said the development of SMAN 1 Kemalang began with the implementation of distance learning in the 2021/2022 academic year. At that time, the distance-learning class reported to SMAN 1 Karangnongko with an initial total of two rombel or 72 students.

The distance-learning model continued through the 2025/2026 academic year, by which time the number of students had risen to 260. Teaching and learning even took place in residents’ homes due to space constraints at SMAN 1 Karangnongko.

“So every year the number of students has continued to rise. The community also kept asking for a high school to be built in Kemalang, and today it has been realised and inaugurated by the Governor,” he said.

One local resident of Santan Village, Rifani Dwi Alikah Putri, said the arrival of SMAN 1 Kemalang has long been sought by people on the Merapi slopes.

“Now friends do not have to travel far to study at Karangnongko or Klaten town. This will greatly help the people of Kemalang,” she said.

Another resident, Nurmala Putri Masdiani, described the new school as evidence of the government’s attention to education in peripheral areas.

“We are very happy and grateful to the Governor and the government for building SMA Negeri 1 Kemalang,” she said.