Fact Check: Did Gibran's Junior High School Principal Say He Did Not Graduate? - Tempo.co English
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Claims stating that the Principal of SMPN 1 Solo (State Junior High School 1 Solo) declared that Indonesian Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka did not graduate from junior high school have circulated on Facebook (account 1 [archive], account 2, account 3) since June 4, 2026. SMPN 1 Surakarta (Solo) is the school where Gibran attended junior high. The content includes a photo of Gibran with the SMPN 1 Solo Principal, Wuryanti.
Did the SMPN 1 Solo Principal Wuryanti state that Gibran did not graduate from junior high?
Tempo verified this content using a reverse image search and confirmation from credible sources. The results show that Wuryanti actually confirmed Gibran did graduate from SMPN 1 Solo.
The photo of Wuryanti used by those social media accounts is identical to imagery published by Detik.com and Official iNews. The photo was taken by Detik Jateng photographer Tara Wahyu on September 25, 2025.
Detik.com’s reporting at the time was in response to a post on X by the account of Dr. Tifa, which questioned Gibran’s junior high school diploma. The account alleged that Gibran was merely an elementary school graduate if the school had not issued his diploma. Wuryanti refuted the allegation and affirmed Gibran’s graduation status. “Mas Gibran graduated from SMP 1,” Wuryanti said. She confirmed that Gibran held an official diploma from SMPN 1 Solo, though she did not specify the year of his graduation.
The validity of Gibran's high school (or equivalent) educational documents had previously been called into question during his 2024 election candidacy. Attorney Subhan Palal filed a civil lawsuit with the Central Jakarta District Court, but the panel of judges ruled that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case.
Various groups also filed a dispute with the Constitutional Court (MK). According to one of the petitioners, Denny Indrayana, the case challenged the educational documents Gibran submitted as part of the requirements for his vice-presidential candidacy.
The inaugural hearing for the case—registered as No. 01/PHPU.PRES-XXIV/2026—was held on Monday, September 21, 2026, at 19:00 WIB (Western Indonesian Time). The petitioners alleged a failure to meet the requirement of having a high school (or equivalent) education during the process ranging from registration to the official confirmation of the candidate pair.
Tempo's verification concluded that the narrative claiming the Principal of SMPN 1 Solo stated Gibran did not graduate from junior high school is false.
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