Students' Anxiety Stories in TKA Participation to Warnings for Supervisors

The Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) stated that the implementation of the first day of the Academic Ability Test (TKA) in various regions ran relatively smoothly. However, there was a small story of experience from SMP Negeri 2 Curug, Tangerang, Banten. One participant, Heiba Anindya, admitted to feeling scared and anxious before taking the exam. “Honestly, at first I was scared and nervous. Because this is a new experience for us,” said Heiba, quoted from the official statement of the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Monday, 6 April 2026. Despite this, her curiosity about the questions being tested kept her enthusiastic. She admitted to having prepared herself for several months beforehand, including increasing the intensity of studying ahead of the exam. Support from parents also became an important factor that made her more confident. “My parents also helped me study and provided practice books. So I felt more prepared,” she said. On the other hand, the implementation of TKA at the school ran without technical issues. The school principal, Purwaningsih, said the exam was held in three sessions with around 60 students per session. She ensured that the network and system ran well throughout the implementation. “There were no issues. The network ran well and the tokens were issued according to the specified time,” she said. Minister of Basic and Secondary Education Abdul Mu’ti, who directly inspected the TKA implementation at the school, reminded the importance of maintaining integrity during the exam. He asked students to complete the questions honestly and not to treat TKA as a burden. “Do it honestly and joyfully. Because this is part of the process, not the end,” said Mu’ti. In addition, Mu’ti also highlighted the role of exam supervisors. He prohibited supervisors from documenting activities during TKA, including making videos or posting status on social media. “We urge the supervisors to carry out their duties professionally, without unnecessary documentation,” he said. Nationally, the implementation of TKA on the first day reached around 98 percent of the target participants. The remaining around 2 percent of students did not take the exam for various reasons, such as psychological readiness or parental considerations. Meanwhile, at SMP Negeri 2 Curug, the participation rate was recorded at 100 percent. Mu’ti explained that TKA is designed as a five in one system that produces five types of educational data, namely academic ability, literacy, numeracy, character, and learning environment conditions. He also ensured that implementation in underdeveloped, frontier, and outermost (3T) areas has been anticipated with a flexible scheme, including options for sharing facilities and follow-up exams for schools affected by disasters. “With the existing system, we are optimistic that the TKA implementation can provide valid and accurate data as a basis for formulating future education policies,” said Mu’ti.