3 hours ago
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January 11, 2025 | 11:52 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - After the public raised concerns over the school zoning system in the admission of new students (PPDB) due to perceived unfairness and widespread allegations of manipulation and corruption, such as those discovered by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Abdul Mu’ti began reviewing the policy. Mu’ti invited all heads of education offices across Indonesia. He also visited several educational organizers and professional groups. “We are asking for their input,” he stated on Wednesday, December 18, 2024.
To identify the issues, Mu’ti also read various studies in the media and research journals. The Education Ministry has conducted at least three reviews. These reviews have now been completed. “The President will officially announce (the results),” he said.
The school zoning policy has become one of the major issues that Mu’ti must address. Introduced in 2017, the policy aimed to create equitable access to education. However, in practice, the zoning system has caused numerous problems. Illegal fees and seat-selling practices have emerged in schools. “We are working on a solution,” Mu’ti said.
Additionally, the former Chair of the National Education Standards Agency acknowledged the importance of evaluating the learning system, such as the national exams. Law No. 20/2003 on the National Education System regulates this. However, Mu’ti realizes that it is impossible to change the policy in the middle of the academic year.
In the one-hour-and-10-minute interview, Mu’ti also acknowledged the low appreciation for teachers. “What the government has provided is not in line with many people’s expectations,” he told Tempo journalists Raymundus Rikang, Sunudyantoro, Yosea Arga Pramudita, and Anastasya Lavenia Yudi at his office on Jalan Jenderal Sudirman, Jakarta.
The school zoning system in the PPDB created recurring problems. What is the solution?
We’ve done assessments three times. The concept is complete. The President will announce it later. The zoning system will be decided in a cabinet meeting.
Is it because the proposal to eliminate it came from the Vice President that it’s not up to you to decide?
I am a President’s aide, so I follow what he says. Anytime he invites us to have a meeting on zoning policy, we have completed the assessment. We just wait for the President to summon us.
Isn’t the zoning system applied in many developed countries?
There are four philosophies (behind the policy). First, quality education for all children as mandated by the law. Second, social inclusion. Third, social integration. Fourth, social cohesion. If children never study with their peers from their neighborhood from the beginning, they will be disconnected from their environment.
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