PORTALJABAR, BANDUNG CITY - The West Java Provincial Education Office has made various preparations ahead of the 2024 West Java New Student Admission (PPDB).

Head of the West Java Education Service, Wahyu Mijaya, said that this year the PPDB quota in West Java reached 300,000.

"For the quota, it's around 300,000 for the state. Overall, with the private sector the capacity could be 103 percent of the number of students leaving SMP and MTs," said Wahyu, after the 2024 West Java PPDB Kick Off in the West Hall of Gedung Sate, Bandung City, Wednesday (8/5/2024).

However, according to Wahyu, regarding distribution there are a few obstacles because of the 627 sub-districts in West Java, around 128 sub-districts do not yet have state schools.

"The problem is distribution so that for those currently in the zoning route, we are giving special quotas to 128 sub-districts that do not yet have state schools. So later there will be special quotas in sub-districts that are adjacent to these sub-districts," said Wahyu.

"There is a calculation formula. Later we will announce the quota for those in the sub-district. We will add it to economically disadvantaged families. So if yesterday it was 12 percent, now it is 15 percent," he added.

Wahyu also explained that for economically disadvantaged families, the West Java Provincial Government is biased towards extreme poverty based on data from the Targeting for the Acceleration of Elimination of Extreme Poverty (P3KE).

"Based on DTKS (Integrated Social Welfare Data), regarding extreme poverty close to state high schools/vocational schools, we do a kind of invitation route. We directly admit them to the nearest schools," he said.

Meanwhile, technically the 2024 PPDB, according to Wahyu, is relatively the same as the previous year, although there are several changes.

In 2023, the second stage of use of the Sapwarga application can be carried out. Meanwhile, now in stage 1 it can be done, including on the West Java Education Service website.

'For communication of questions, we use AI (artificial intelligence). "All students can ask questions and answers there, unless there are other difficulties that AI cannot answer, we are still preparing at the destination schools, service branches and the West Java Education Department office," he explained.

Wahyu also emphasized that his party would take firm action if there were parties who followed the PPDB in ways outside the specified rules.

"There is firm action. If it is carried out by individuals from the West Java Provincial Government, then the provincial government will process it. But if the action is criminal, for example forgery and so on, the process is not within us. We will adjust to the provisions," he said.

"We are grateful to Forkopimda who is very committed and supportive. There was a signing of a joint commitment which in its items really supports a cleaner PPDB," concluded Wahyu.