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View all search resultsOne year on, pressure builds on govt to enforce free education ruling
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Pupils stay focused on their mathematics exams during the inaugural National Academic Competency Test (TKA) at Kalicari 3 state elementary school in Semarang, Central Java, on April 22, 2026. The computer-based assessment is part of a standardized national program conducted simultaneously across the country. (Antara/Makna Zaezar)
E
ducation watchdogs are pressing the government to immediately enforce a Constitutional Court ruling mandating free basic education at both public and private schools, a year after the decision was issued with no concrete follow-up from the state.
The ruling, issued on May 27, 2025, through a judicial review of the 2003 National Education System (Sisdiknas) Law, ordered the government to guarantee free compulsory education at elementary and junior high school levels, including equivalent madrasah (Islamic schools), to ensure equal access to education.
The court found that Article 34 of the Sisdiknas Law, which mandates free basic education for all, had been interpreted too narrowly by applying only to state schools.
At the same time, the court acknowledged that some private schools offered additional curricula or international programs as their distinguishing feature. Since parents enrolling their children in such schools were generally aware of the higher costs involved, the court ruled that these institutions could be exempt from the free education policy.
The policy was expected to take effect immediately after the ruling was issued.
Read also: House member pushes for immediate regulations after free education ruling
However, the Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPI), which filed the petition, said the government had yet to take any meaningful steps toward implementing the ruling, particularly by failing to issue a presidential regulation as the legal basis for nationwide enforcement.
