Semarang, Central Java. A state junior high school in Semarang has allegedly used fake award certificates to help dozens of its graduates gain entry to top high schools in the Central Java capital, an official said on Thursday.

It was revealed that 69 graduates of Semarang State Junior High School 1 had used the fake awards to boost their points and increase their chances of admission to desired high schools.

The fake awards claimed that members of the school’s marching band had won a gold medal in the 2022 Malaysia International Virtual Band Championships.

"We doubt the legality of the award and recommend that it be excluded from any consideration of individual merit for high school admission,” Acting Central Java Governor Nana Sudjana said in a news conference at his office in Semarang.

The revelation followed an investigation by a provincial government team based on a public tipoff. The team conducted interrogations involving the school committee, marching band coaches, teachers, and students' parents.

However, the scandal did not automatically disqualify the students involved. The government allowed them to reapply using their academic points from the first two and a half years of their junior high school education.

"The award is deemed worthless because we cannot confirm its authenticity,” the governor said.

State high schools use a zoning system to select new students. The coverage is determined by local governments and, in highly-populated cities, may cover a radius of only 4 kilometers.

However, those schools allocate 30 percent of their capacity for merit-based entry, allowing students with academic achievements to apply even if they reside beyond the zone.

For the current academic year, the combined entry capacity of state high schools across Central Java stands at around 221,000.

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