Underprivileged Students Have Opportunity to Enter Preferred Schools

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) states that students from low-income families have a 90 per cent opportunity to enter their desired schools through the New Student Admission System (SPMB).

Director General of Early Childhood Education, Basic Education, and Non-Formal and Informal Education at Kemendikdasmen, Gogot Suharwoto, said his ministry strongly favours students from low-income families to continue their education via SPMB.

“This is a change in the SPMB system for the underprivileged. We have a strong bias towards students from low-income families,” Gogot said during the Coffee with the Director General of PAUD Dikdas PNFI event in Central Jakarta on Thursday.

For secondary school level, for example, he explained that students from junior high schools who are underprivileged can continue to high school through the SPMB affirmative pathway with a minimum quota of 30 per cent.

Furthermore, if the underprivileged student lives near the school location, he said that student can continue to high school through the domicile pathway with a minimum quota of 30 per cent.

Meanwhile, if a student from the underprivileged category has achievements, Gogot added that the student can continue to high school level through the achievement pathway, which has a minimum quota of 30 per cent.

“Actually, if analysed more deeply, a student from a low-income family gets privilege in the 30 per cent affirmative pathway. They are less able but close to the school, they get privilege in the domicile pathway. They are underprivileged but accomplished, they get privilege in the achievement pathway. So, students from low-income families actually have a 90 per cent chance to enter the desired school,” said Gogot.

So far, his ministry has recorded that 9.4 million students will participate in SPMB from primary school, junior high to high school/vocational high school levels.

Regarding the SPMB implementation schedule, his side leaves it entirely to local governments.

His side suggests announcing SPMB registration at the earliest in the first week of May, followed by a series of registration, selection, announcement of new student placements, up to re-registration in June and July, taking into account the 2026/2027 new academic year calendar.