PDI-P Backs End to Automatic Grade Promotion, Citing Primary Pupils Who Cannot Read Fluently

MY Esti Wijayati, deputy chair of Commission X of the House of Representatives and a member of the PDI-P’s central executive board, has backed a proposed policy under which pupils would no longer automatically move up a grade. The policy is scheduled to take effect in the 2027/2028 academic year, but Wijayati said it needed further discussion before implementation.

“We support it, but there will certainly be further discussions, because there are many things we also need to discuss,” Wijayati told reporters at the PDI-P School in Lenteng Agung, South Jakarta, on Wednesday (21 October 2026).

Wijayati stressed that education policies could not be implemented without discussion. She cited the proposal for free education from kindergarten through state universities, which she said also required further consideration.

“When the President says education should be free from kindergarten to state universities, should we simply agree? We also need to discuss it,” she said.

Wijayati said the automatic promotion system introduced under former Education Minister Nadiem Makarim could reduce pupils’ motivation to study. She said it might also make parents less inclined to support their children’s learning at home.

“Children are not motivated, and parents feel they can be more relaxed because their children will move up a grade anyway. The problem we have seen in some places is that even children finishing primary school are not yet fluent readers. Some Year 4 pupils still have difficulty reading,” she said.

“It was different when the previous system was in place: parents also had a responsibility to help their children study at home,” she added.

Wijayati said decisions on promotion should take account of pupils’ mastery of the curriculum. In her view, pupils who had not met the minimum standards should repeat the learning before moving on to the next grade.

“I think this system would be far better than one in which every child moves up a grade regardless of the results. The curriculum has learning targets. Has a pupil met the minimum level required to move on to the next grade or not?” she said.

“If they have not mastered the minimum requirements for the material, they should repeat it. And repeating should not mean just a short period, as there has been some variation in the past. It should be a full package to strengthen their learning so that they can then move up to the next grade,” she said.

Education Minister Abdul Mu’ti previously said that a policy ending automatic promotion would be introduced in the 2027/2028 academic year. He said it was currently being studied and had been presented to President Prabowo Subianto.

“We have now begun the review process and, God willing, it will start to be implemented in the new 2027/2028 academic year,” Abdul Mu’ti said, according to Antara on Saturday (17 October).