MPR Deputy Speaker Urges Data-Based SPMB Reform to Address Crisis of Empty State Primary Schools
The phenomenon of dwindling applicants for state primary schools (SDN) across various regions for the 2026/2027 academic year is seen as a serious alarm bell demanding an immediate overhaul of the national new student admissions system (SPMB).
Deputy Speaker of the MPR RI, Lestari Moerdijat, has urged the government to carry out a fundamental reform of the SPMB by prioritising analysis of current data on the capacity and potential student interest in each region.
Data from the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education shows a significant contraction in the number of primary school pupils, from 27.58 million in 2011/2012 to around 23.9 million in 2024.
Ironically, the number of primary school units has increased, from 61,566 in 2003 to 72,470 in 2024, creating a large imbalance between capacity and the number of pupils.
“This asymmetrical planning must be fixed immediately. Physical school development must no longer run counter to demographic realities and public demand,” stressed Rerie, as Lestari is familiarly known, in a statement on Tuesday (21/7/2026).
According to Rerie, who is also a member of Commission X of the House of Representatives, a new student admissions system that is intelligent, data-driven and adaptive to change is needed.
“The organisation of the state primary school network can no longer be done in a piecemeal fashion,” said Rerie.
Field data reinforces that urgency. In Ngawi, East Java, for instance, of 470 SDN, on average each received only 13-14 new pupils, with one school recording zero applicants.
In Malang City, East Java, 62 out of 195 SDN failed to meet their quotas, with 2,285 empty seats (27.46 per cent of the total allocation). In Bangli, Bali, seven SDN enrolled only 3-6 pupils each. Even in a major city such as Solo in Central Java, there were 1,144 vacant primary school places in total.
Rerie also highlighted shifting public preferences as an important factor in preparing education services.
Over a decade, the number of SDN pupils fell from 22.4 million (2016) to 20.3 million (2022), while private primary school pupils grew from 3.1 million to 3.7 million over the same period.
“This is a clear indication that parents are seeking more responsive education services. State schools must improve their quality,” she asserted.
Rerie pushed for a number of strategic steps to address the situation, including the immediate creation of an education roadmap based on accurate population data to determine the location and needs of schools.
In addition, stated the member of the NasDem Party’s Supreme Council, coordination between central and regional governments must be strengthened so that policies are properly targeted.
“The data has spoken. Now is the time for real action. Fix the new student admissions system (PPDB) from its root causes, so that every Indonesian child gets access to fair and quality education,” Rerie concluded.