SMAN 2 Jogja Denies Withholding Certificate Over Unpaid Voluntary Contributions

SMA Negeri 2 Yogyakarta has been accused of withholding a graduating student’s certificate this year because the family had not fully paid a voluntary contribution. The case has been reported to the Inspectorate General of the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen).

The incident came to light after a community organisation, Sarang Lidi, received a report from a guardian of a student at SMAN 2 Yogyakarta, identified as L (54). L claimed her child’s certificate, which should have been issued on Friday (29/5), was not handed over by the school.

Sarang Lidi secretary Siti Zoura Humairah stated that L reported the incident to her organisation on Saturday (30/5). The report indicated that L’s child did not receive the certificate because the school claimed there were unresolved administrative arrears.

“On Saturday we tried to investigate the case. We spoke with the child’s parent and with the child. It turned out the chronology was that on Friday, the child had arrived at school ready to collect the certificate but was directed by the homeroom teacher to meet the treasurer first,” Zoura explained when contacted on Friday (5/6/2026).

“When the child eventually met the treasurer in the treasurer’s room, the treasurer stated, ‘You will not get your certificate if you have not settled this administrative burden,’” she continued.

The administrative burden referred to was a voluntary contribution fee when L’s child, identified as B, transferred to SMAN 2 Yogyakarta. B had to move from a senior high school in Madiun, East Java, during the promotion to Year XI due to personal circumstances.

Upon transferring to SMAN 2 Yogyakarta, B took an entrance test. Out of 17 students who registered, only four were declared successful, including B. B had actually also been accepted at a private high school in Yogyakarta, but due to economic constraints, the parents chose SMAN 2 Yogyakarta.

“What was unexpected, according to the parent’s testimony, was that once they were declared accepted at SMA 2, the parents of the four students were gathered and then asked to fill in a donation letter form,” Zoura said.

“Based on the narrative conveyed internally, each person was burdened with a cost of Rp 10 million for each seat. The other three happened to have the financial means, although they were also shocked according to the mother’s testimony. They agreed, but this mother did not,” she added.

Due to her financial situation, L negotiated the contribution amount down to Rp 7.5 million. As that figure was still not agreeable, negotiations continued until it was reduced to Rp 5.5 million.

L attempted to pay the contribution in instalments. However, up until graduation, L had still not been able to settle the amount, leading to the certificate withholding incident.

“The unpaid administrative burden is Rp 3.4 million, out of a total requested settlement of Rp 5.5 million,” Zoura clarified.

“But they always use the term voluntary contribution. In practice, every time the child received a report card, there were letters reminding them about the outstanding payments,” she continued.

On Monday (1/6), L was asked to come to SMAN 2 Yogyakarta and the school requested she withdraw her report to the Inspectorate. However, L and B did not attend as they had business in Madiun. Two days later, on Wednesday (3/6), B’s certificate was handed over by the school.

“When we came to the school, the certificate was immediately given. We also had a somewhat heated discussion with the headmaster and all the vice principals who felt responsible for the incident,” Zoura revealed.

“During that discussion, they did not raise the issue of contributions at all. They repeatedly stated that there was never any levy there. And they denied linking the certificate withholding to the contribution,” she said.

Although the certificate has been handed over, Zoura stated her organisation is not withdrawing its report to the Inspectorate General. According to her, the inspectorate is currently investigating the incident.

“It is being followed up and will be investigated further by the inspectorate. They are waiting for more in-depth evidence, and we are also prepared to cooperate to examine the evidence further. So this is all still in process,” she stressed.

Headmaster of SMAN 2 Yogyakarta Denies Allegations

When asked for confirmation, the Headmaster of SMA Negeri 2 Yogyakarta, Suprihatin, denied that the school had withheld the certificate.

“Actually, that is not true. So, we handed out certificates last Friday en masse. All students were invited to collect their certificates. So if it is reported that we withheld a certificate, that is incorrect,” Suprihatin said when contacted today.

However, Suprihatin confirmed that voluntary contributions were collected. She also confirmed that on the day of certificate collection, B was called to see the assistant treasurer of the school committee. According to her, the summons was merely for confirmation purposes.

“The student was actually just asked to see the committee’s assistant treasurer, for confirmation. The school only wanted to confirm whether it was true that the voluntary contribution could not yet be settled,” Suprihatin explained.

“They were asked to confirm with the treasurer. After that, they were free to return to the homeroom teacher to collect the certificate. But B did not take the certificate and went home. We asked, if there was a difficulty, why not come to see me in my office immediately? The answer was, ‘Sir was not at school’. Even though at that time, that Friday, we were at school from morning until 4 p.m.,” she continued.

Regarding the voluntary donation, Suprihatin also denied that the school had set a specific amount. According to her, the donation amount was filled in by the guardians themselves according to their ability. Not filling it in at all was also not a problem.

“(The donation amount) is according to what the parents agreed to previously. Yes, it is according to what was written by the parents. Everything is left to the parents; because it is called a voluntary donation, not paying at all is also fine,” she said.