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Government revises school zoning policy after public uproar
The government has increased the quota for high-achieving students in every school and assures that the zoning policy is here to stay
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Education and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy (right) strikes a gong to officially open a gathering of representatives of education agencies across the country from May 30 to June 1 to discuss the ministry’s school enrollment zoning system. (JP/Arief Suhardiman)
T
o appease frustrated parents whose children have failed to be admitted to state schools, the Education and Culture Ministry has revised a regulation to enable more places to be allocated for students with high academic achievement in every school in the country.
Education and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy said he had signed a circular informing regional heads and schools about a revision to Education Ministerial Decree No. 51/2018 on the school enrollment zoning system policy.
The revision in the new Education Ministerial Decree No. 20/2019 stipulates that the ministry will increase the enrollment quota for high performing students to 15 percent of the total number of seats in a school, from the initial 5 percent. Another 5 percent will be allocated for transfer students, while the remaining 80 percent will still be determined by the zoning policy.
“The President asked us to evaluate some parts of the zoning policy that had triggered disagreements, one of them was the quota for students with high academic achievement who wanted to enroll in schools outside their zoning system. The President has asked us to increase the quota from 5 to 15 percent. But for the provinces that can run with only a 5 percent quota they can continue,” Muhadjir told the media on Friday.
He also ensured that the zoning system was here to stay for a long time.
“Of course, the zoning system will continue. [The quota for high-achieving students] is the only controversial issue that arose,” he added.
The zoning system ensures that students will get to the closest schools in their area regardless of their scores or who registered first. This is the third year the system has been in place since it was first implemented in 2017.
