Governor Launches 40 Integrity Schools in East Java

Surabaya (ANTARA) - East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa launched 40 Integrity Schools during the commemoration of National Education Day 2026 at the Negara Grahadi Building in Surabaya, as an effort to strengthen character education and a culture of student honesty. “The 40 senior high schools and vocational high schools selected today as Integrity Schools have a noble mission to realise East Java’s human resources that are increasingly superior and competitive,” Khofifah said in Surabaya on Tuesday. The launch was marked by pressing a siren together with five representative school principals, namely State Senior High School (SMAN) 1 Talun Blitar, SMAN 2 Jombang, SMAN 1 Kalianget Sumenep, State Vocational High School (SMKN) 4 Jember, and SMAN 1 Ngadirejo Pacitan. Khofifah stated that the existence of Integrity Schools is expected to become a character laboratory for students so that they are not only academically excellent but also possess morals and social responsibility. “The presence of these schools is projected to become a character laboratory for students so that they are not only cognitively proficient but also morally strong in facing increasingly complex social dynamics,” she said. According to her, strengthening integrity from the school bench is a long-term investment to prepare superior human resources towards Golden Indonesia 2045. “If from the school bench, honesty has become a culture, then in the future we will have trustworthy and visionary national leaders from the Land of Majapahit,” she added. Head of the East Java Provincial Education Office Aries Agung Paewai said that the 40 Integrity Schools are spread across 38 regencies/cities and serve as a pilot project for character education development. He mentioned several programmes implemented, including honesty canteens and classes without gadget use to build a culture of discipline and student responsibility. “So there are honesty canteens, and there are also honest gadget-free classes. They will become a pilot project to be developed in other schools in East Java,” he said. On that occasion, Khofifah also received an award from the Museum of Indonesian Records (MURI) for organising the largest simultaneous Blood Booster Tablet Drinking Movement (TTD) in Indonesia, participated in by 1,572,404 students online. In addition, Governor Khofifah received copyright recognition for the song “Jatim Cerdas (Ready to Be Champions)” from the Ministry of Law of the Republic of Indonesia with registration number EC002026055585 dated 28 April 2026.