State still fails to provide free basic education<\/p>\n
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Though the government promised to provide free basic education
\nfor all school-age children across the country starting this
\nyear, most schools are still making new students pay an "entrance
\nfee".<\/p>\n
The director of Paramadina University's Center for Education,
\nReform Hutomo Danangjaya, said that according to his observations
\nmost, if not all, schools in the country were demanding what they
\ncalled "contributions for building maintenance" or "voluntary
\nfees" from the parents of new students.<\/p>\n
"In fact, public elementary schools and junior high schools
\nare the most enthusiastic about asking for money from their new
\nstudents. This shows that the program to provide free basic
\neducation is not working," he told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Many parents have complained that they are required to pay
\nbetween Rp 200,000 and millions of rupiah for building
\nmaintenance and voluntary fees when they enroll their children at
\nstate elementary schools and junior high schools.<\/p>\n
Article 31 of the Constitution requires the state to provide
\neducation for all citizens. It also requires the state to provide
\nat least 20 percent of its annual budget for education.<\/p>\n
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono recently vowed to ensure
\nthe nine-year compulsory education was free for all students.<\/p>\n
For that purpose, the government increased its education
\nbudget to Rp 24.6 trillion, or 9.29 percent of the 2005 state
\nbudget, from Rp 18.4 trillion, or 6.5 percent of last year's
\ntotal budget. The House of Representatives also approved Rp 6.27
\ntrillion in additional funds to provide an education for children
\nof low-income families.<\/p>\n
The government has estimated that one year of school costs Rp
\n235,000 per elementary school student and Rp 324,500 for each
\njunior high school student.<\/p>\n
Under the nine-year free basic education program, the
\ngovernment will disburse funds to each state school based on the
\nabove estimate of the cost of education. And schools are required
\nto accept all students without charging them fees. Private
\nschools are free to choose whether to participate in the program.
\nIf they apply for state funds, they are not allowed to charge
\nentrance fees.<\/p>\n
Hutomo said state schools did not need any additional building
\nmaintenance funds because they already had well-maintained
\nbuildings.<\/p>\n
"For years, the schools collected money from students for
\nbuilding maintenance. The government paid the teachers' salaries
\nand the students bought the books and uniforms themselves. So
\nwhat is the building maintenance fee for?" he asked.<\/p>\n
Hutomo said state schools played a vital role in the national
\neducation system as they accounted for 85 percent of all schools
\nin the country.<\/p>\n
He proposed that the government audit public schools to find
\nout whether they were using their state funds properly.<\/p>\n
While agreeing with Hutomo, noted education expert Suparman
\nsaid the government must conduct a study to see how much money
\nschools really required to cover their operational costs before
\ndeciding how much funds to disburse to each school.<\/p>\n
"We never know how much a school needs to cover its expenses.
\nSeveral schools in Tangerang, for instance, require their
\nstudents to pay Rp 50,000 per month, but we do not know whether
\nthey really need that much," he told the Post.<\/p>\n
A recent survey of poor families by the International Labor
\nOrganization found that elementary school students had to pay an
\naverage of Rp 374,225 in total annual education fees. A junior
\nhigh school student pays twice that amount.<\/p>\n
Hutomo and Suparman called on the government to order all
\nschools to return the money they had collected from students'
\nparents this year.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/state-still-fails-to-provide-free-basic-education-1447893297",
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