T

he Jakarta administration is applying a zoning system to school enrollment this year to ensure the equal distribution of new students among schools as well as to reduce traffic jams in the capital.

Jakarta Education Agency head Taufik Yudi Mulyanto said that students who failed public school selection at the provincial level would be able to enroll in public schools in their respective neighborhoods.

'€œStudents who fail school enrollment selection at the provincial level will be allowed to choose between three schools in their neighborhoods. In this way, we can reduce traffic gridlock and prevent students from being concentrated in certain schools that are deemed better than other schools,'€ Taufik told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

He added that the zoning system also aimed to distribute the quality of education at public schools across the capital.

According to Taufik, students about to enter elementary school could pick between three public elementary schools within their subdistrict, while those entering junior high school could similarly pick schools within their district.

'€œSenior high school students can pick between three schools from two to four district areas in or near their neighborhoods,'€ he said, adding that the zoning system did not apply to vocational schools.

The agency has allocated 45 percent of the school quota for students living in the same area.

'€œWe allocated 5 percent of the school quota for students from outside Jakarta, 5 percent for students with special achievement, 45 percent for students who pass provincial public school selection and the remaining 45 percent for students living in the same zones,'€ he said.

Students and parents can also register online at sd.ppdbdki.org for elementary schools and jakarta.siap-ppdb.com for junior and senior high schools.

'€œWe have set up online registration to ensure that school enrollment is transparent, objective, competitive and accountable,'€ he said, emphasizing that the registration process was free.

However, he called on parents to register as soon as possible.

'€œRegistration for elementary schools starts on June 22, while junior and senior high schools open their registration on June 18-22,'€ he said.

Transportation Agency head Udar Pristono said the zoning system would significantly reduce traffic gridlock during peak hours.

'€œWith the zoning system, people'€™s movements will be more limited; therefore, we can better manage the traffic,'€ Pristono said.

Indonesian Teachers Unions Federation (FSGI) secretary-general Retno Listyarti lauded the plan, saying that the zoning system would bring a number of advantages.

'€œBesides helping to ease the traffic, it may also help to prevent student brawls,'€ she said, adding that the further children had to travel home from school, the more likely it was that students would get into disputes.

Retno argued that the zoning system would not violate people'€™s right to study at certain schools deemed better than other schools.

'€œThey can still apply to schools outside their zone but the opportunity will not be as great as before, as schools will favor students who live nearby,'€ she said.

She added that it was essential to spread smart students across different schools and put regular students in the best schools, as education was not only about competitiveness but also equality.

'€œThe best students usually flock to certain schools, which makes good schools become better and bad schools worse,'€ she said.

The senior high schools deemed the best in the city comprise SMAN 8 and SMAN 70 in South Jakarta; SMAN 68 in Central Jakarta; SMAN 78 in West Jakarta; SMAN 13 in North Jakarta, and SMAN 81 in East Jakarta.

Retno said if most students studied in schools within their respective neighborhoods, residents living around the schools would pay more attention to them.

'€œOften, people don'€™t care about their local schools because the students do not come from their neighborhoods,'€ she said.