Governor encourages East Java talent event to strengthen achievement ecosystem

Surabaya (ANTARA) - East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa is encouraging the 2026 East Java Student Talent Achievement event to strengthen a performance-based education ecosystem while preparing superior, competitive generations for national and international levels through directed and sustainable coaching.

“I hope the East Java talent event can produce extraordinary talented individuals, not only at the provincial level, but also succeeding nationally and advancing internationally,” Khofifah said in a statement in Surabaya on Sunday.

The 2026 East Java Student Talent Achievement event, which began on Saturday (4/4), involves thousands of the best students from all regencies/cities as part of the East Java Provincial Government’s strategy to identify and develop student potential.

Previously, East Java has won championships in various national competitions, such as the National Science Olympiad (OSN), National Student Sports Olympiad (O2SN), National Student Arts and Literature Festival and Competition (FLS3N), Student Competency Competition (LKS), Indonesian Student Research Olympiad (OPSI), Indonesian Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Festival (FIKSI), and Indonesian Debate Competition (LDI).

“Through this event, we want to ensure that every top talent from East Java has the space to develop and achieve. Because this is how we build the golden generation that will take East Java and Indonesia further forward,” the Governor said.

She added that the talent event also serves as a form of appreciation for high-achieving students that can be utilised to enter state universities (PTN) through the National Selection Based on Achievement (SNBP).

“Because they receive appreciation, and even with the talents they possess to achieve success, it can be used to enter PTN via the SNBP achievement pathway, that’s why East Java always has the highest nationally entering PTN via the SNBP pathway, due to the government’s concern for the talents of the great students from East Java,” she said.

Based on SNBP 2026 data, 29,046 students from East Java were accepted into PTN out of 108,122 registrants, making the province the highest nationally for seven consecutive years from 2019 to 2026.

In addition, East Java is also the province with the highest number of Indonesia Smart College Card (KIP-K) recipients, with 8,915 students accepted out of 40,213 registrants.

“This is good news for children from underprivileged families. Because this reduces the gap in access to higher education. We want to ensure that no child in East Java drops out of school due to economic reasons. The KIP-K programme is one of the important instruments for that,” she stated.