Govt moves to increase spending on education<\/p>\n
Muninggar Sri Saraswati and Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Ministry of National Education and legislators are
\ndemanding a hundred percent increase in the 2003 education
\nbudget, from Rp 13.6 trillion (US$15.2 billion) as proposed by
\nPresident Megawati Soekarnoputri, to about Rp 26 trillion, saying
\nthe rise is crucial to achieve the goals of national education.<\/p>\n
"The President had earlier proposed to increase the budget
\nfrom the current Rp 11.2 billion to Rp 13.6 trillion, but it is
\nstill not enough to meet even the minimum requirement to support
\ndevelopment in the education sector," Minister of National
\nEducation Abdul Malik Fajar said here on Monday after a hearing
\nwith House of Representatives Commission VI on people's welfare.<\/p>\n
The hearing on Monday was held to set up a schedule for the
\ndeliberation of the national education bill. The ministry and
\nlegislators expect to approve the bill in May next year.<\/p>\n
"If this country is determined to develop the education sector
\nfor the sake of the people as amended by our Constitution, I hope
\nthe House will consider raising the budget to about Rp 26
\ntrillion," Malik told The Jakarta Post after holding a hearing
\nwith House Commission VI.<\/p>\n
The House has yet to agree to Megawati's proposal for the Rp
\n13.6 trillion budget, which is only 4 percent of the 2003 state
\nbudget. The proposed increase, made last month at her state
\naddress on the eve of the anniversary of Indonesia's
\nindependence, is far below the 20 percent mandated by the fourth
\namendment of the Constitution.<\/p>\n
Article 31 of the amended 1945 Constitution stipulates that
\nthe state shall give priority to education by allocating a
\nminimum of 20 percent of the total state and regional budgets for
\nthe country's education.<\/p>\n
Legislator Heri Achmadi of the Indonesian Democratic Party of
\nStruggle (PDI Perjuangan) said the Commission had assigned the
\nHouse's Budget Commission to increase the education budget to Rp
\n24 trillion, even though "the amount is not significant compared
\nto the number of Indonesian children who need to receive
\neducation."<\/p>\n
"If the government could allocate some Rp 23 trillion in
\nbailout funds for Bank Mandiri, why did it fail to propose a
\nhigher budget for education?" asked Heri, also deputy chairman of
\nHouse Commission VI, referring to the largest state-owned bank.<\/p>\n
According to Malik, the increase proposed by his ministry and
\nlegislators will help improve the quality of education, including
\nin the restive areas of Aceh, Ambon and Poso in South Sulawesi
\nthat need special attention.<\/p>\n
Even in Java, which is close to the seat of the central
\ngovernment, the picture is not at all rosy. In Garut, West Java,
\nfor example, some 272,000 students have been forced to sit on the
\nfloor because some 70 percent of the furniture at the regency's
\n1,500 elementary schools has been damaged due to poor maintenance
\nand natural disasters. The regency needs around Rp 60 billion to
\nrebuild 450 school buildings.<\/p>\n
Farther from Jakarta, the picture is even bleaker. In Kendari,
\nSoutheast Sulawesi, elementary school students in remote Tangkuna
\nregency have to collect Rp 2,000 every month to pay for their
\nteachers' salaries in an attempt to attract more teachers there.
\nPoor pay, remote locations and inadequate facilities have scared
\nteachers away from places like Tangkuna. Currently, there are
\nonly three teachers there for around 100 students.<\/p>\n
Prolonged conflicts have further worsened the situation. In
\nAceh, more than 100,000 school-age children have missed school
\nover the last three years due to the armed conflict between
\nsecurity forces and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).<\/p>\n
According to data at the Aceh Education and Culture Office,
\n160 private and state elementary and high schools have been badly
\ndamaged since 1999 and none have been repaired so far.<\/p>\n
Worse, the government has failed to guarantee the safety of
\nteachers in Aceh. The Aceh chapter of the All-Indonesia Teachers
\nAssociation (PGRI) reported last week that 50 teachers had been
\nkilled and 200 others physically assaulted in the past two years.<\/p>\n
During the three-year sectarian conflict in Maluku, thousands
\nof students attended classes in makeshift structures in refugee
\ncamps because their schools had been damaged.<\/p>",
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