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🇮🇩 Indonesia /Culture & Society

South Sumatra Ombudsman: 320 New High School Students Risk Unregistered Status

From Republika · () Indonesian

Translated from Indonesian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Ombudsman South Sumatra revealed that 320 new students at state high schools are at risk of not being registered in the Dapodik system due to mismatched enrollment quotas.
  • The discrepancy was found between the number of classes set by the provincial Education Office and the verification results from the Quality Assurance Center for Education (BPMP).
  • Three other procedural violations were also identified in the new student admission process, including issues with zoning, lack of a formal complaint period, and improper reallocation of class quotas.

A significant issue has emerged in South Sumatra's high school admissions process, threatening the official registration of 320 new students. The Ombudsman of the Republic of Indonesia's South Sumatra representative has uncovered a serious discrepancy in enrollment quotas, potentially preventing these students from being registered in the crucial Data Pokok Pendidikan (Dapodik) system.

The problem stems from a mismatch between the number of classes (rombel) designated by the provincial Education Office and the figures verified by the Quality Assurance Center for Education (BPMP) South Sumatra. According to Ombudsman representative M. Adrian Agustiansyah, this led to a substantial shortfall in capacity at two specific schools: SMAN 11 Palembang and SMAN 20 Palembang. Each school has a deficit of four classes, translating to approximately 160 students per school whose enrollment is not aligned with ministry recommendations.

We found a discrepancy in the number of learning groups and students set by the South Sumatra Education Office with the verification results of BPMP South Sumatra.

— M. Adrian AgustiansyahThe Ombudsman representative explained the core issue of mismatched enrollment data.

Agustiansyah emphasized that according to ministerial regulations, any exceptions to enrollment capacity must be based on recommendations from the relevant ministry's quality assurance unit. The Dapodik system relies on this verified data. If the Education Office insists on its unverified quotas, these hundreds of students face the risk of not being officially registered, a situation reminiscent of a similar case in Bengkulu in 2025.

Beyond the quota issue, the Ombudsman's oversight identified three additional procedural violations. These include students admitted via the domicile jalur at SMAN 1 Palembang who did not meet the established zoning requirements. Furthermore, the provincial Education Office failed to provide a formal period for parents to appeal or address procedural discrepancies across all admission pathways. Lastly, many schools improperly shifted unused non-centralized quotas entirely to academic tests, contrary to guidelines that allow for reallocation through domicile or academic test routes. Schools also neglected to provide accessible complaint channels.

This case reminds us of the events that occurred at SMAN 5 Bengkulu in 2025.

— M. Adrian AgustiansyahHe drew a parallel to a previous incident involving student registration issues.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Republika in Indonesian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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