RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education held the Signing of the Joint Commitment for the Friendly New Student Admission System (SPMB) for the 2026/2027 Academic Year in Jakarta, Thursday, May 21, 2026. The event serves as a step for the government to strengthen the governance of new student admissions that is transparent, objective, accountable, fair, inclusive, and non-discriminatory.

The Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Abdul Mu’ti, affirmed that SPMB is not merely an annual administrative routine, but an important part of public education services to ensure quality education access for all Indonesian children.

According to him, the Friendly SPMB is designed so that economic barriers, disability conditions, domicile, and social background do not become obstacles for children to obtain their basic right to education. The government also wants to ensure that vulnerable groups, including children from low-income families, persons with disabilities, and children affected by disasters, have the same opportunity to access quality education.

"SPMB must be the gateway to education that is fair, safe, and prioritizes the best interests of children," Abdul Mu’ti said in his speech.

The signing of this joint commitment involves various ministries and agencies, local governments, supervisory authorities, law enforcement agencies, child and disability protection institutions, and civil society organizations. This cross-sector synergy is carried out to oversee the implementation of the 2026/2027 Academic Year SPMB to ensure it runs according to regulations and is free from discriminatory practices or deviations.

The Director General of Early Childhood Education, Basic Education, and Nonformal and Informal Education, Gogot Suharwoto, said that the implementation of SPMB in recent years has shown positive development. Based on the Katadata Insight Center survey in 2025, 64 percent of respondents believe that SPMB helps equalize access to education, 51 percent believe that the system increases transparency, and 50 percent say that SPMB is capable of reducing the dominance of favored schools.

As of now, 476 local governments have established technical guidelines for the implementation of SPMB, consisting of 451 regencies/cities and 25 provinces. Several regions such as North Sumatra, Palembang City, Pamekasan Regency, and Solok Regency have also begun the registration stages.

In an effort to expand access to education, the government has recorded that 135 regions have involved private schools in the implementation of SPMB. Of this number, 92 regions provide operational assistance to private schools, while 43 other regions distribute direct aid to students in the form of scholarships or free school programs for students from low-income families who are not accommodated in public schools.