Controversy Over Revocation of SMK IDN Permit Reported to Ombudsman
Dozens of parents of students from SMK IDN Boarding School Bogor visited the Ombudsman of the Republic of Indonesia to follow up on a complaint filed on 12 March 2026.
The Chairman of the SMK IDN Boarding School Bogor Committee, Eko Aprianto, requested that the Ombudsman examine allegations of maladministration in the issuance of the West Java Governor’s Decree revoking the operational permit of SMK IDN Boarding School Bogor. He stated that the decree was issued abruptly without any prior warning letter or reprimand to the school.
“We were quite shocked by the decision. We hope that with this complaint, everything becomes clearer,” Eko said at the Ombudsman RI Building in Jakarta on Thursday, 2 April 2026.
The case began when several students were allegedly involved in serious violations while abroad. Some of those students were suspected of smoking and accessing pornography sites. The school then decided to drop out (DO) them in November 2025. However, the parents of the expelled students were dissatisfied. They subsequently challenged the school’s operational permit with the West Java Provincial Government in December 2025.
On 12 January 2026, the school committee held an audience with the Head of the Vocational Secondary School Development Division of the West Java Education Office, Edy Purwanto. In that meeting, there was discussion regarding plans to revoke the school’s permit. However, the Education Office promised to request a suspension of the decision until the end of the semester.
On 5 March 2026, the school received notification that the West Java Governor’s Decree Number: 188/Kep.17-DPMPTSP/2026, signed on 19 January 2026, had been issued. Eko said that the issuance on 19 January was without notification to the school. “The Governor’s Decree was signed on 19 January 2026, but it was only delivered to the school on 5 March 2026,” he stated.
According to Eko, the school had obtained its operational permit in 2023. The school also had a National School Identification Number (NPSN). Accreditation had also been granted in the same year. However, Eko found it strange that the operational permit was challenged and revoked.
“The question is, who issued it and who revoked it? Why is the school being targeted, while the government’s supervisory role also needs to be questioned?” Eko said.
SMK IDN Committee member Hadi Koerniawan stated that there was an allegation of maladministration in the revocation of the school’s operational permit. This assessment refers to Law Number 37 of 2008 on the Ombudsman of the Republic of Indonesia.
The committee assessed that the West Java Provincial Government was suspected of maladministration. “They committed unlawful acts, exceeded or abused authority, and neglected legal obligations in public services,” he said at the same location.
According to Hadi, the decree was inappropriate because it was based on the Building Construction Approval (PBG) permit. “In fact, the PBG is a building permit, not an educational operational permit,” he said.
He explained that the PBG had been issued by a government agency through an administrative verification process. Therefore, if there were errors, it should be the responsibility of the government’s verification process.
Hadi said the school was not given the opportunity to make administrative corrections. Administrative errors should be resolved through stages of warnings, guidance, or document corrections. “Not directly leading to the revocation of the operational permit,” he said.
He also assessed that the revocation of the school’s permit ignored the interests of around 560 students undergoing the education process. Moreover, access to the Basic Education Data (Dapodik) had previously been closed without notification. This situation nearly caused students to fail to participate in the National Selection for New Student Admission (SNPMB).
Hadi viewed the policy as potentially neglecting students’ educational rights. The reason is that the policy was implemented in the midst of the learning process when class XII students were preparing for final exams and university registrations.
On that basis, the SMK IDN Committee requested the Ombudsman to examine the alleged maladministration in the issuance of the West Java Governor’s Decree, investigate the process of revoking the school’s operational permit, and provide recommendations for cancelling that decision. “As well as administrative sanctions against parties proven to have committed violations,” he said.
To date, the SMK Committee is still waiting to meet with representatives of the Ombudsman RI.
Cited from Kompas, the Head of the West Java Education Office, Purwanto, said that the revocation of the school’s operational permit was not intended to halt students’ learning activities. That step was instead taken to ensure that the students’ educational status has a clear legal basis. “The government wants to ensure that children’s educational rights in West Java are fulfilled properly and in accordance with applicable regulations,” he said in a press conference at the West Java DPMPTSP Office, Jalan Cianjur, Bandung City, on Thursday, 12 March 2026.
According to him, the decision to revoke the permit had gone through a process of discussion and dialogue with the school management. On 21 January 2026, the provincial government and the school also agreed on several steps to ensure that the students’ education process continues.