East Java named best province in ImagiNation 2026 awards

East Java has won the Best Province award in the national ImagiNation 2026 competition, organised by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) in partnership with AssemblrEDU, after recording the highest participation, with 505 schools.

East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa praised pupils, teachers, headteachers and the wider education community who took part in the competition in Surabaya on Friday.

“Thankfully, this award is a source of pride for all of us. I would like to thank and express my appreciation to the pupils, teachers, headteachers and everyone in East Java’s education community who continue to make progress and produce work. Behind every creation by our children are the dedication they bring to learning, the patience of teachers guiding them and the support of parents, all of which deserve our appreciation,” she said.

East Java outperformed West Java, with 457 participating schools, and Central Java, with 293. Of East Java’s participants, 223 were primary schools, 119 were junior secondary schools, and 163 were senior secondary and vocational schools.

Khofifah said the high level of participation reflected schools’ enthusiasm for developing creativity and providing learning relevant to technological advances.

“Achievement is one measure of educational success when it stems from a high-quality learning process. We want children to become increasingly capable of critical thinking, willing to try, skilled at solving problems and strong in character. That is the meaning of achievement we must continue to foster in East Java,” she said.

Khofifah hoped the achievement would be followed by mentoring so that school innovations could develop into high-quality work and sustainable teaching practices.

Through ImagiNation, teachers and pupils create interactive projects using 3D technology and augmented reality (AR). Khofifah said she hoped the technology would help pupils understand their lessons while developing their imagination and creativity.

East Java Education Agency head Aries Agung Paewai said the achievement was due in part to teachers’ and pupils’ enthusiasm for using technology.

“We are grateful for the recognition from Kemendikdasmen and for our children’s enthusiasm for taking part in a technology competition. We hope this event will continue to be held in the years ahead, providing teachers and pupils with a platform to develop creativity and improve the quality of learning,” Aries said.

Kemendikdasmen Secretary-General Suharti said the competition attracted more than 5,200 teachers and pupils, who produced more than 1,600 projects. A total of 1,393 entries advanced to the next stage, comprising 908 pupil projects and 485 teacher projects.

The inaugural competition featured four categories: Dreamers for primary schools, Makers for junior secondary schools, Visionaries for senior secondary and vocational schools, and EDU Innovators for teachers.