Jakarta (ANTARA) - Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka underscored the need to address the unequal distribution of teachers, which is one of the issues in implementing the school zoning enrollment system.

"The zoning system is a good program, but it probably cannot be implemented in all regions yet," Raka noted in his remarks at the Coordination Meeting on the Evaluation of Primary and Secondary Education Policies on Monday.

He said that a key priority for the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is to resolve the current disparity in teacher distribution, where some regions face overcapacity while others are understaffed.

Gibran also highlighted recurring issues that arise annually related to the zoning system, which prioritizes prospective students living closer to a particular school, such as increased domicile transfers among prospective students ahead of the New Student Admissions period and inequality in educational facilities.

He recalled that during his term as mayor of Solo, he received various complaints from the public regarding the implementation of the zoning system.

"Thus, please review it to determine whether it will be continued or return to the old system," he told the coordination meeting.

On that occasion, he called on the ministry to coordinate with the Ministry of Public Works to rehabilitate damaged school buildings.

He also urged heads of education offices to monitor the implementation of the Free Nutritious Meals program, a key government initiative.

Monday's coordination meeting aimed to bolster synergy between the central and regional governments in improving education quality and equality in the country, with the New Student Admissions policy as one of the main topics under discussion.

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Translator: Fathur Rochman, Raka Adji
Editor: Anton Santoso
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