Policy Ending Automatic Grade Promotion to Return, PGRI Discusses Student Competence

The Central Board of the Indonesian Teachers Association (PB PGRI) has backed Primary and Secondary Education Minister Abdul Mu’ti’s statement that a policy ending automatic grade promotion will take effect in the 2027/2028 academic year. PGRI chair Unifah Rosyidi highlighted the importance of students’ competence.

“I agree. At its heart, education is not merely about completing the curriculum or spending a year learning,” Unifah said when contacted on Saturday (17 October 2026).

She said education should equip pupils with knowledge and the ability to think that they need in life. “For that reason, promotion to the next grade should reflect genuine progress in competence. Ideally, pupils moving up should have mastered the basic skills they need to learn more complex material,” she added.

She cited the example of a Year 3 primary school pupil who had not understood multiplication. The pupil, she said, would struggle with division, fractions and ratios in the following year.

“Those difficulties can accumulate, causing pupils to lose confidence and motivation to learn,” she said.

She stressed that such difficulties should be identified early through diagnostic assessment, which observes pupils’ abilities and learning needs. This principle is in line with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education’s learning and assessment guidelines.

“It should be understood that bringing back promotion examinations does not mean returning to an education system focused on report-card marks and graduation. Instead, this policy should be an opportunity to improve how teachers teach and assess pupils’ abilities,” she said.

Abdul Mu’ti previously said that the policy ending automatic promotion would begin in the 2027/2028 academic year. He said it was currently under review and had been presented to President Prabowo Subianto.

“We are now carrying out the review process and, God willing, it will begin to be implemented in the new academic year, 2027/2028,” Abdul Mu’ti said, as quoted by Antara on Saturday (17 October).