TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
West Kalimantan school uses Google Maps to determine student admissions
Implemented in 2017, the policy aims to end elitism among certain schools favored by well-off families.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Parents jostle to receive state school enrollment forms at SMP 10 state junior high school in Denpasar, Bali, on Tuesday. Student enrollment in state schools is determined through a zoning system. (JP/Zul Trio Anggono)
S
tate high school SMAN 1 Putussibau in Kapuas Hulu regency, West Kalimantan, is using Google Maps to comply with the Education and Culture Ministry’s zoning policy for school enrollments.
Implemented in 2017, the policy aims to end elitism among certain schools favored by well-off families by ensuring that students would be allowed to attend the school closest to their home regardless of their score or who registered first.
“Students who live nearby will become our priority,” SMAN 1 Putussibau vice principal Padillah Daulay said on Monday as quoted by Antara news agency.
“Google Maps will then help us measure the distance between this school and the students’ respective addresses,” he added.
Padillah further said that the school would accept 243 new students this year through three different systems; 80 percent of the students would be determined by the zoning policy, while 15 percent of the total seats would be saved for high-performing students. The remaining 5 percent quota will be allocated for transfer students.
The method is regulated in the new Education Ministerial Decree No. 20/2019.
The previous policy regulated that 90 percent of students would be accepted to state schools based on the proximity of their home to the school, while 5 percent would be accepted based on academic merit. The remaining seats would be allocated for transfer students.
The regulation was then revised to fulfill the demand of parents who want their children attending state schools. (vny)
