AVAILABILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY OF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL (SMA) EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES IN GUNUNGKIDUL REGENCY

Abstract

Education is a fundamental element of human life; however, many communities still do not receive adequate educational services, including in Gunungkidul Regency. Based on data from Badan Pusat Statistik, Gunungkidul has the lowest average years of schooling in the Special Region of Yogyakarta Province, at 7.32 years during the 2021–2023 period. Improving educational outcomes requires adequate educational facilities. Therefore, this study examines the availability and accessibility of Senior High School (SMA) facilities in Gunungkidul.

The data used in this study include the spatial distribution of SMA locations, population distribution data, and road network data. Buffer analysis and Nearest Neighbor Analysis were applied in this research. The data sources were obtained from BPS, the Indonesia Geospatial Portal, Google Earth, and the Badan Informasi Geospasial, integrating multiple sources for comprehensive analysis.

The results show that out of 24 SMA in Gunungkidul, 15 are located in the central region, 5 in the northern region, and 4 in the southern part. SMA facilities are largely concentrated in the central or urban core area, indicating that their availability is unevenly distributed. Accessibility to SMA facilities is also relatively unequal, with considerable distances between schools in several districts, particularly in four southern districts.