Education Minister: Automatic Promotion to End from 2027

The government hopes that ending automatic promotion will motivate pupils to study, improve their command of the material, and build strong character and resilience.

Pontianak (ANTARA) – Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Abdul Mu’ti said a policy ending automatic promotion would be introduced in the 2027/2028 academic year, after the ministerial regulation and technical guidelines had been drawn up. The proposal has been conveyed to President Prabowo Subianto.

“We are currently conducting a review, and God willing, it will begin to take effect in the 2027/2028 academic year,” Abdul Mu’ti told reporters in Kubu Raya regency, West Kalimantan, on Saturday.

He explained that the policy would set out a mechanism for deciding whether pupils advance to the next year, taking several factors into account—not only their mastery of subject matter or academic performance, but also their character development.

The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is drafting a ministerial regulation to serve as the legal basis for the policy, along with technical guidelines for schools and teachers, he said.

Abdul Mu’ti said the previous policy had prompted complaints from teachers. Pupils’ academic performance also needed to improve, he said, requiring an approach that could encourage motivation to learn and prepare them to face future challenges.

“By ending automatic promotion, the government hopes pupils will be more motivated to study, improve their mastery of the material, and build strong character and resilience,” he said.

He stressed that President Prabowo Subianto had approved the policy. A separate policy on placing pupils into academic tracks had also received the President’s approval, and its implementing regulations were being prepared.

Abdul Mu’ti added that the policy was scheduled to begin in the 2027/2028 academic year, once the regulations and technical guidelines had been completed.

On the proposal for free schooling, which the President had previously discussed, Abdul Mu’ti said the government was seeking to strengthen public confidence in the provision of education.

“However, the explanation in the available statement is incomplete, so it cannot be elaborated further,” he said.