Age is more than just a number for aspiring high school students in Jakarta.

Last week, the city administration rolled out the zoning system for this year’s public school enrollment (PPDB). Unlike previous years, a potential student’s age is now a main factor in the registration process, sparking protests from parents caught unaware.

Before 8 a.m. on Thursday morning, 60-year-old Sugiharto and his wife sat down at their computer to register their youngest daughter at three state senior high schools (SMAN) within their designated enrollment zone, based on proximity to their residence in the Kebayoran Lama subdistrict of South Jakarta.

At first, the registration appeared to be going smoothly. Their daughter was placed on all three of the schools’ enrollment lists. Two hours later, however, Sugiharto found that his daughter’s name had been removed and replaced by the names of other potential students.

Soon it became apparent that their daughter’s age had cost her a spot, even though her average grades were higher than some of the older students who had pushed her off the list.

“It’s unfair that age has become a main factor in school enrollment. How do you even explain that? Why can older kids get into the same schools [at the expense of] younger students?” Sugiharto told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

The couple’s daughter is 15 years and three months old.

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