Chair of Commission X: Frequent Reports of SPMB Fraud Each Year

Deputy Chair of Commission X of the Indonesian DPR, Himmatul Aliyah, said she regularly receives complaints about various fraud that recurs in the implementation of the Student Admissions System (SPMB). She said the latest Ombudsman report highlights issues that consistently surface, such as document manipulation, ghost migration, falsification of family-card data (KK), and limitations in blind-spot or inaccessible areas. ‘There are still practices of titipan, illicit charges (pungli), and intervention by officials who abuse their authority to push certain applicants into schools outside official procedures,’ she said at the signing of the Friendly Student Admissions System (SPMB Ramah) at the Ministry of Basic Education and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen), South Jakarta, Thursday, 21 May 2026. In addition, the DPR also asks the government this year to ensure that the number of graduates is aligned with school capacity. She said many densely populated areas still do not have public schools at all. ‘In Jakarta alone, there are many residential centers that do not have schools for progression to higher levels,’ said Himmatul. In the implementation of SPMB, the government sets four admission channels, namely zonation (residence), affirmation, achievement, and mutation or transfer of parental duties. The SPMB requirements, said Himmatul, must be carried out strictly in accordance with statutory provisions. She also touched on the school-entry age, which is no longer rigidly fixed at a minimum of seven years. Himmatul said, in the revision of the National Education System Law (RUU Sisdiknas) being discussed, they emphasise this age. According to her, age should not be a barrier for children to enter educational institutions. ‘Children’s intelligence varies. Some are already ready to learn or even show exceptional ability at age five or six. Therefore, these administrative barriers need to be adjusted to reflect the child’s physical readiness and intelligence,’ said Himmatul. The Ministry of Education and Culture’s Basic and Secondary Education stated that since last year the rule on the age limit for prospective students has been in effect. The rule is set out in Ministerial Regulation No. 3 of 2025 on SPMB. ‘So for SPMB for primary schools, there is an age exemption for children. But note: the key is that the child is ready to participate in primary education,’ said Director-General for Early Childhood Education, Basic Education, and Non-Formal and Informal Education, Kemendikdasmen, Gogot Suharwoto, on Thursday, 21 May 2026.