20% budget allocation for schools? 'Not likely'<\/p>\n
Urip Hudiono and Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
While welcoming the Constitutional Court's ruling that obliges
\nthe government to increase the education budget, education
\nobservers raised doubts that the ruling would take effect in
\n2006, while the chief economics minister hinted at the likelihood
\nof an even more bloated budget deficit if the ruling were
\nimplemented.<\/p>\n
The Constitutional Court ruled on Wednesday in its judicial
\nreview of the national education law, that government must
\nallocate at least 20 percent of the state budget and regional
\nbudgets for education.<\/p>\n
The percentage is in accordance with the amended 1945
\nConstitution.<\/p>\n
The Court also ruled that the allocation should take effect in
\n2006, instead of a gradual increase.<\/p>\n
The Court's panel of judges noted that this country's
\neducation system was lagging behind in terms of quality, so it
\nneeded to become a priority to improve that.<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie said
\nthat the government had considered allocating more but that it
\nwould raise the risk of widening the budget deficit.<\/p>\n
The deficit projection so far in the 2006 State Budget draft
\nis 0.7 percent.<\/p>\n
\"For instance with the larger budget allocation for health or
\neducation, the deficit will probably bloat to around 1.1 percent,
\nwhich right now is being discussed at the House of
\nRepresentatives,\" Aburizal said on Thursday, as quoted by Antara.<\/p>\n
Educational expert and professor Conny Semiawan said that in
\nthese days of economic hardship, it would be unlikely that
\ngovernment would raise the budget for education in 2006.<\/p>\n
\"We have our hopes high, and we hope for the better, but
\nfrankly, I'm very pessimistic. Even with the ruling, if there's
\nno money, the government cannot increase the allocation. So,
\nlet's just wait and see,\" said the former rector of Jakarta State
\nUniversity.<\/p>\n
Education activist Yanti Muchtar from Kapal Perempuan (Ship of
\nWomen), a non-governmental organization working on education for
\nwomen and the poor, said that the government must follow the
\nCourt's ruling, especially as the fuel price hikes have caused
\nmore students to drop out.<\/p>\n
\"The allocation should emphasize educational programs,
\nparticularly for the nine-year compulsory education. Which means
\nthat elementary and junior high school must be free,\" Yanti said.<\/p>\n
The government, she said, should also revise the related laws
\nand regulations that stipulate that the education budget must be
\npaid for by the government, parents and communities, and thus
\nfree the government from its responsibility.<\/p>\n
State Minister for National Development Planning Sri Mulyani
\nIndrawati, meanwhile, declined to comment on the Court's ruling,
\npending further assessment of the issue.<\/p>\n
Sri Mulyani and Minister of Education Bambang Sudibyo had
\npreviously presented to the House of Representatives Commission
\nXI for financial affairs, a scheme in which the government would
\nincrease each year the state budget's allocation for the
\neducation sector by an average of 3 percent each year, until it
\nreaches 20.1 percent in 2009.<\/p>\n
Data from the Ministry of Finance shows that the government
\nhad for this year allocated Rp 24.6 trillion (some US$2.4
\nbillion) -- or 9.29 percent of the government's total
\nexpenditures -- for education through the national education and
\nreligious affairs ministries, which is a 33 percent increase from
\nits allocation last year.<\/p>\n
The House, however, agreed to provide Rp 33.7 trillion for the
\nsector in the budget's final revision, along with Rp 6.27
\ntrillion in low-income assistance funds for educational purposes.<\/p>\n
The amount seems larger, but it is actually lower by
\npercentage as the government's revised expenditures had also
\nincreased to Rp 411.6 trillion.<\/p>\n
For the 2006 state budget, the government has proposed a total
\nof Rp 31.3 trillion for the education sector, from the
\ngovernment's Rp 375 trillion planned expenditures.<\/p>\n
The proposed budget is being deliberated by the House and
\ncould be approved in its plenary session on Oct. 27.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/20-budget-allocation-for-schools-not-likely-1447893297",
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