Results of FKP Series 1 Activities: "PPDB, Can the Quality of Education Be Equalized?"

PPDB Zoning Indicated to Promote Equal Education Quality 

"Preliminary study results indicate that PPDB as a program aimed at equalizing the quality of education is progressing in the expected direction, such as opening wider access for disadvantaged students, reducing transportation costs, and reducing the quality gap between schools. However, this policy has not been proven to increase access for disabled groups and improve the quality of learning."

-Conclusion of the Development Studies Forum discussion, 13 September 2023

Article 33 Indonesia, a policy research institute, held a Development Study Forum (FKP) on Wednesday 13 September 2023 with the theme "PPDB, Can the Quality of Education Be Equalized?". This activity presented Irsyad Zamjani as Head of the Center for Educational Standards and Policy (PSKP) of the Ministry of Education and Culture, Siti Chaerijah Aurijah, Head of the Depok City Education Office, and Yusuf Faisal Martak, researcher for Article 33 Indonesia. This discussion was attended by more than 100 participants from various elements of society, including government agencies, academics, educational practitioners, research institutions and students. 

Admission of New Students (PPDB) is a policy that is always hotly discussed every year. Executive Director of Article 33 Indonesia, Santoso, in his introduction explained that the community considers PPDB to be an important process that determines the future of their children. Therefore, it is important to conduct studies to measure the success of this policy. 

The PPDB policy is part of the implementation of the Independent Learning program which aims to create quality education for all elements of society. Irsyad Zamjani explained that based on the results of the 2021 National Assessment (AN), Indonesia is facing a learning crisis which is characterized by low attainment of minimum literacy and numeracy competencies, as well as gaps at various levels of education. This gap begins in the process of admitting students to school.  

The results of the PSKP study show that the PPDB policy, which was previously based on academic selection, was considered to have had a negative effect in the form of labeling favorite and non-favorite schools, thereby triggering segregation of students based on social and economic status, discriminatory policies where more government support was given to high-achieving schools, and resulting in high transportation costs. The implementation of the PPDB zoning route aims to solve this problem by continuously improving and equalizing the quality of education. 

Yusuf Martak explained three main findings from the Article 33 Indonesia study. First, PPDB has succeeded in providing wider opportunities for underprivileged students to enter state schools. Second, PPDB has succeeded in reducing transportation costs to schools. Third, there has begun to be an even distribution of the quality of learning outcomes. Meanwhile, PPDB has not succeeded in increasing access for students with disabilities to attend public schools and has not promoted improving the quality of learning.

Therefore, Yusuf concluded that in general the PPDB policy has been running on a good track and has succeeded in achieving several intermediate goals (increasing access to education, reducing school costs), but still requires improvement and strengthening in its implementation to be able to achieve its main goal, namely improving the quality of learning. . 

The challenges in implementing PPDB zoning at the regional level were conveyed by the Head of the Depok City Education Office, in the form of limited school facilities and infrastructure, parental preferences have not shifted and require their children to go to favorite schools, and the quality of education is not evenly distributed between schools. Obstacles are also felt due to the uneven distribution of PPDB information among the public, problems with fraud in the PPDB process such as falsifying family cards, and the process of verifying registrant data which requires a lot of energy and time.

At the end of the discussion, the panelists provided several policy recommendations to strengthen the implementation of PPDB in the future, such as strengthening regulations, improving government monitoring and supervision, as well as strengthening public campaigns to provide better understanding to the public.

[CommsPub and HRS]