Deputy Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly Lestari Moerdijat urged the government to implement a data-based new student admissions system to address the many low enrollment rates at state elementary schools.
"The data speaks for itself. Now is the time to take concrete action. Improve the new student admissions system, starting from the root of the problem, so that every Indonesian child can have access to fair and quality education," he said.
Lestari cited data from the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, which showed that the number of elementary school students decreased from 27.58 million in the 2011/2012 academic year to around 23.9 million in 2024.
At the same time, the number of elementary schools increased from 61,566 schools in 2003 to 72,470 schools in 2024.
According to him, this imbalance indicates the need for a more planned and data-driven school network arrangement so that the development of educational facilities is in line with demographic conditions.
For example, in Ngawi Regency, East Java, there are public elementary schools that did not receive any applicants for the 2026/2027 academic year, while in Malang City, 62 public elementary schools have not yet met their quota, with around 2,285 seats still vacant.
Lestari also highlighted shifting public preferences. Over the past decade, the number of public elementary school students has steadily declined, while the number of private elementary school students has increased, necessitating public schools to improve the quality of their educational services.
He also encouraged the central and regional governments to strengthen coordination and develop a population data-based education roadmap to ensure more targeted school development policies.
