ICW alleges graft in school projects<\/p>\n
A. Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A corruption watchdog alleged on Monday that education projects
\nworth trillions of rupiah, including those funded by foreign
\nagencies, were rife with corruption, and some of top culprits
\nincluded officials with the Ministry of National Education.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) said it had received many
\nreports of alleged corruption in projects related the to School-
\nBased Management (SBM) scheme, funded by the World Bank, Asian
\nDevelopment Bank (ADB), the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and
\nNew Zealand.<\/p>\n
"At least 10 percent of the funding for those projects has
\nbeen lost due to corruption," said ICW program manager Ade
\nIrawan, urging law enforcers to bring suspected corruptors to
\njustice.<\/p>\n
"We want tighter supervision and better law enforcement to be
\napplied to stop the corruptors," Ade said in a seminar on
\nEducation and Corruption in Indonesia here.<\/p>\n
Ade said his office had received reports of alleged monetary
\nirregularities from several regencies, including Garut in West
\nJava, Simalungun in North Sumatra and Sumenep in East Java.<\/p>\n
He said school principals usually would bribe officials from
\nthe Ministry of National Education to get the money for SBM-
\nrelated projects.<\/p>\n
SBM is a system that was set up three years ago to encourage
\nschools to propose projects based on their needs. The ministry
\ndirectly disburses the funds to the schools if their proposals
\nare approved.<\/p>\n
The system, which is also being implemented in several other
\ncountries such as Cambodia, involve the parents in a School
\nCommittee, especially for drafting a proposal to be submitted to
\nthe Ministry of National Education.<\/p>\n
Ade revealed that the ICW had recently done research in
\nJakarta and learned that most teachers and parents had never
\nheard of the SBM system.<\/p>\n
"If teachers and parents in Jakarta do not know about this
\nprogram, we can imagine what it must be like for the parents and
\nteachers in other regions," said Ade, suggesting that the
\ngovernment postpone new projects and improve the system.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, education observer Winarno Surachmad warned on
\nMonday that corruption in schools by teachers and people in the
\neducation ministry would adversely affect the nation's future,
\neven moreso that other ministries.<\/p>\n
"Corruption in schools is be more dangerous than in any other
\narena. What good things are left to teach to our children?"
\nWinarno asked in the seminar.<\/p>\n
He also said the regional autonomy program as it related to
\nthe education sector was partly to blame for worsening corruption
\nin schools.<\/p>\n
Some problematic education projects<\/p>\n
--------------------------------------------------------------------
\nSource names of projects value type of funding
\n--------------------------------------------------------------------<\/p>\n
World Bank West Java Basic Education US$130.2m loan<\/p>\n
------------------------------------------------------<\/p>\n
East Java and East Nusa US$146.4m loan<\/p>\n
Tenggara Secondary<\/p>\n
Education<\/p>\n
-------------------------------------------------------<\/p>\n
Sulawesi and Eastern Island US$70.9m loan<\/p>\n
Basic Education
\n---------------------------------------------------------------------
\nAsian Deve- Senior Secondary Education US$198.6m loan
\nlopment Bank --------------------------------------------------<\/p>\n
Education Finance Study US$540,000 grant<\/p>\n
--------------------------------------------------<\/p>\n
Community Based Basic US$3.2m grant<\/p>\n
Education for the Poor<\/p>\n
----------------------------------------------------<\/p>\n
Decentralized Basic Education US$125m loan<\/p>\n
-----------------------------------------------------<\/p>\n
Secondary Edu US$300m loan<\/p>\n
cation<\/p>\n
-------------------------------------------------------<\/p>\n
Decentralized Basic Education US$1.24m loan
\n-------------------------------------------------------------------
\nADB and Decentralized Education Mana- US$750,000 grant
\nEngland gement<\/p>\n
---------------------------------------------------<\/p>\n
Minimum Basic Service for the US$937,000 grant<\/p>\n
Poor
\n--------------------------------------------------------------------
\nNew Zealand School Based Management US$3m grant
\n--------------------------------------------------------------------
\nNetherlands School Improvement Grant Rp 258b grant
\n--------------------------------------------------------------------
\nBank Mega School Based Management Rp 500m grant
\n--------------------------------------------------------------------
\nSource: Indonesia Corruption Watch<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/icw-alleges-graft-in-school-projects-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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