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School zoning flip-flop may worsen inequality in Indonesia: Ombudsman

The government has increased the quota for well-performing students and decreased the chances for those who live near the schools 

Gemma Holliani Cahya (The Jakarta Post)
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Jakarta
Sun, June 30, 2019

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School zoning flip-flop may worsen inequality in Indonesia: Ombudsman Home address verification: An administrative officer of SMAN 8 Depok state high school in West Java verifies a student’s home address during a new student enrollment session, as part of implementing the Education and Culture Ministry’s new school zoning enrollment system. The new system requires schools to prioritize enrolling students who live within a certain catchment area. (JP/Arief Suhardiman)

T

he Indonesian Ombudsman has criticized the Education and Culture Ministry for making a hasty decision to decrease the allocation of seats for nearby students in the zoning system to 80 percent while increasing those for students with high academic achievement to 15 percent. 

“This is the way the ministry responded to protests and it showed how they are not firm with their own policy. Even if they need to change the policy, they need to make a thorough evaluation first and not just suddenly drop the quota like that,” Ninik Rahayu, an Ombudsman member, said.

Education and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy circulated a letter on June 20 on the policy revision after a string of protests by parents and students over the zoning policy for school enrollment that prioritized the admission of students who live in the same district as their desired schools.  

In some provinces where there is an inadequate number of state school, many parents are forced to enroll their students in more expensive private schools, despite their children having achieved high grades in the final exams.  

The uproar led to a revision of Education and Culture Ministerial Decree No. 20/2019 increasing from 5 to 15 percent the quota allocated for students with high academic achievement.

Muhadjir said the decision was taken after President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo asked him to evaluate some parts of the zoning policy that had triggered criticism, one of them being the quota for students with high academic achievement who wanted to enroll in schools outside their local zones.

The revision was criticized because the zoning system was intended to provide an equal quality of education to every student -- regardless of economic status -- in schools near their homes. It was also expected to eliminate the phenomenon of “favorite schools”, top state schools that have become increasingly exclusive for smart students from privileged families.  

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