Student Admission System in Bandung City Begins Today
The Bandung City Government has begun implementing the new student admission system (SPMB) on Monday, 4 May 2026, until 13 July 2026. Bandung Mayor Muhammad Farhan stated that this year’s SPMB is designed to be more orderly and measured, including in the management of teaching and learning activities. “Primary and junior secondary schools may only have a maximum of two lesson shifts,” Farhan said in his statement on Sunday, 3 May 2026.
From this regulation, it means schools can only conduct learning activities in two sessions, namely morning and afternoon. According to Farhan, previously there were still schools that implemented more than two sessions, especially in areas with limited classroom space.
He assured that all related regional apparatus have prepared to support the smooth implementation of SPMB, from the registration stage to the selection process. Evaluations will continue to be conducted during the implementation to ensure all stages run transparently and accountably.
Meanwhile, according to the Head of the Bandung City Education Office, Asep Saeful Gufron, the SPMB rules are almost the same as last year. “The new thing is that the TKA (Academic Ability Test) results are used for SPMB,” he told Tempo on Wednesday, 15 April 2026.
The use of TKA scores, according to Asep, is not a basic requirement for SPMB, but rather part of the selection for public schools with a 30 percent portion in the prestige pathway. “The TKA is to evaluate the abilities of students who are about to graduate,” he said.
The TKA in Bandung City was conducted from 6-16 April for junior secondary level (SMP) equivalents and for primary school (SD) equivalents from 20-30 April. Asep said not all students took the TKA. “Most who did not take the TKA are because their children will enter private schools,” he said.
Asep urged parents not to force their children into public schools because there are private schools available. The same applies to prospective students at risk of discontinuing education (RMP). “For those in decile groups 1 to 5, private school fees will be subsidised to be free,” he said.
The SPMB in Bandung City relates to new student admissions in public schools at kindergarten, primary, and junior secondary levels. Meanwhile, senior secondary equivalents are handled by West Java Province.
From the 2026 SPMB schedule plan for Bandung City, new student registration will be announced on 4 May. The stages begin with data collection for prospective at-risk students from 4-8 May. Next, verification and validation of RMP prospective student data on 11-15 May. Determination of new RMP students based on mapping will be done on 22 May.
The next process is data collection for new prospective students from 11 May to 5 June 2026. After that, registration for the prestige and affirmative pathways will open from 8-12 June. The selection results will be announced on 19 June, followed by re-registration on 22-23 June.
The next registration for the domicile and transfer pathways will take place from 22-26 June. The selection results will be announced on 3 July, and the re-registration process on 6-7 July. The first day of school for the 2026/2027 academic year is planned for 13 July 2026.
The Secretary of the Bandung City Education Office, Edy Suparjoto, urged the public to prepare all administrative needs from now. Main documents such as family cards, birth certificates, and parents’ identity cards for prospective students must be ensured to be valid and updated to avoid hindering the registration process.