Student Registration Violation Often Found in Jakarta: ORI

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Ombudsman (ORI) has found a number of violation patterns in the online new student registration (PPDB) this year, with Jakarta as the city with highest number of violations.

Among the violations were transcript manipulations in the online registration, authority abuse among education agency officials, illegal seat slots, and illegal charges.

"Many of the violations [occurred] in Depok, Bekasi, South Tangerang, South Sulawesi, Bandung and Subang," ORI assistant for education Zainal Mutaqqin said in Jakarta on Friday, September 2, 2016.

The findings were concluded after reviewing reports submitted to the PPDB complaint center in Jakarta and other regions.

"We also conduct observations in relevant institutions to find facts and violation indications," Zainal explained.

Zainal revealed that three types of violations that commonly occurred were illegal charges, procedure breaches, and poor management in education institutions.

ORI commissioner Ahmad Suaedy viewed that supervision on the PPDB was still weak. According to Suaedy, regional governments had not followed up the violations. Suady suggested that the Education and Culture Ministry, the Home Affairs Ministry and their officials should establish dedicated channels to report such violations.

"Therefore, public complaints related to the PPDB can be promptly addressed," Suaedy said.

Suaedy revealed that ORI called on regional governments to establish a transparent PPDB system.

"It can be realized by disseminating the number of seats provided at schools, at least two months prior to the PPDB execution," Suaedy suggested.

Suaedy also called for more transparent reports related to student admissions and schools zoning, as well as standardization for quality of schools.

"Therefore, there will be no more empty seats at certain schools, since students prefer more popular schools than those near their homes," Suaedy said.

YOHANES PASKALIS