11 State Schools Receive No Interest in 2026 Secondary School Enrollment in Bali

Following the conclusion of the first phase of the 2026 New Student Admission System (SPMB) process in Bali province, it has been reported that 11 State SMA (Secondary School) buildings across the province received no demand and remained vacant. This situation raises a significant question mark particularly regarding the efficiency of the region's educational infrastructure and student placement policies. While the idle state of educational buildings is being discussed as a waste of resources and gaps in planning processes, authorities are attempting to clarify the situation.

In relation to the issue, Bali Province General Secretary Dewa Made Indra made a public call, stating that junior high (SMP) graduates who were eliminated in the first phase selections or could not get into their preferred schools should not become demoralized. Indra emphasized that failure is not the end of the process and that students should evaluate different types of schools, reminding that the educational process is not merely academic exams. This statement aims to alleviate the anxieties experienced among parents and students and to focus on the second phase of the process.

When looking at the educational statistics in the region, it is understood that the majority of schools facing a lack of demand are not SMA (Academic High School) but SMK (Vocational High School) type institutions. According to data from the Bali Education, Youth and Sports Agency, 11 of the 65 state SMKs in the province could not reach sufficient application numbers in the initial registrations and failed to fill their quotas. This situation lays bare the perspective of student parents and the youth towards vocational education and the intensity of the preference for academic high schools.

Authorities stated that the 11 vocational schools with unfilled quotas are waiting for students according to determined fields of interest, but the failure of these schools to fill their capacities is a matter of preference. A call was made to students to consider vocational education, which will contribute to future career planning, instead of only focusing on academic achievement. Bali Education Head KN Setiawan stated that the fact that the vacant schools were not preferred despite being on the selection lists is a problem related to the perception of vocational schools in society.

The SPMB 2026 process has once again shown how wide the gap is between the high demand for academic high schools and the lack of interest in vocational schools. While almost all academic high school quotas were filled in the first phase placements, a large portion of vocational education institutions remained empty. This unbalanced distribution requires education planners to review their strategies for the coming years, while it is important for students moving to the next phase to make more realistic and alternative preferences.