Mega slams parties pledging free education<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri criticized on Wednesday
\npolitical parties promising free education, saying that there was
\nno such thing as free or cheap education.<\/p>\n
\"We all know that education is expensive, so it is just
\nunrealistic when some people offer free or cheap education,\"
\nMegawati said during a ceremony to mark National Education Day on
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
Some political parties, including the Prosperous Justice Party
\n(PKS), promised to provide free or cheap education during the
\ncampaign for the April 5 legislative election.<\/p>\n
\"Such promises are false,\" Megawati said.<\/p>\n
The government, according to Megawati, was trying to fulfill
\nits obligation under the 1945 Constitution to allocate at least
\n20 percent of the State Budget to the education sector.<\/p>\n
\"But I know even that is not enough. Parents have to pay a lot
\nmore than the amount the state allocates to finance the education
\nof their children,\" Megawati said.<\/p>\n
Financing has always been a major problem for schools, with
\nmany facing difficulties in funding the compulsory nine-year
\neducation scheme.<\/p>\n
The government has said it has been trying to increase the
\nbudget allocation for the education sector since 2001 but has so
\nfar only managed to allocate around 20 percent of development
\nexpenditure on the sector.<\/p>\n
\"With our budgetary constraints, only those with money can
\nafford a good education, while the poor cannot afford to send
\ntheir children to school and thus they end up having to work as
\nunskilled laborers,\" Megawati said.<\/p>\n
The President appealed to reputable and private schools to
\nprovide scholarships for those who had the talent but could not
\nafford to go to school.<\/p>\n
\"Through this forum I would like to ask these educational
\ninstitutions to provide scholarships for those who are talented
\nbut cannot afford education. I would also ask for the rich to
\ncross-subsidize the poor so that their children can go to
\nschool,\" she said.<\/p>\n
\"It would be wrong for educational institutions to only think
\nabout profit and ignore their responsibilities to educate the
\npeople,\" she added.<\/p>\n
Megawati also said that the government would try to increase
\nbudget funding for the education sector in the coming years.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Minister for National Education Malik Fadjar
\nstressed the importance of encouraging competition among
\nstudents.<\/p>\n
\"In the globalization era, our young people will have to
\ncompete with their peers from around the globe, and so we have to
\nset standards so that our children can compete,\" the minister
\nsaid.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/mega-slams-parties-pledging-free-education-1447893297",
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