20% budget allocation for schools? 'Not likely'
20% budget allocation for schools? 'Not likely'
Urip Hudiono and Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
While welcoming the Constitutional Court's ruling that obliges
the government to increase the education budget, education
observers raised doubts that the ruling would take effect in
2006, while the chief economics minister hinted at the likelihood
of an even more bloated budget deficit if the ruling were
implemented.
The Constitutional Court ruled on Wednesday in its judicial
review of the national education law, that government must
allocate at least 20 percent of the state budget and regional
budgets for education.
The percentage is in accordance with the amended 1945
Constitution.
The Court also ruled that the allocation should take effect in
2006, instead of a gradual increase.
The Court's panel of judges noted that this country's
education system was lagging behind in terms of quality, so it
needed to become a priority to improve that.
Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie said
that the government had considered allocating more but that it
would raise the risk of widening the budget deficit.
The deficit projection so far in the 2006 State Budget draft
is 0.7 percent.
"For instance with the larger budget allocation for health or
education, the deficit will probably bloat to around 1.1 percent,
which right now is being discussed at the House of
Representatives," Aburizal said on Thursday, as quoted by Antara.
Educational expert and professor Conny Semiawan said that in
these days of economic hardship, it would be unlikely that
government would raise the budget for education in 2006.
"We have our hopes high, and we hope for the better, but
frankly, I'm very pessimistic. Even with the ruling, if there's
no money, the government cannot increase the allocation. So,
let's just wait and see," said the former rector of Jakarta State
University.
Education activist Yanti Muchtar from Kapal Perempuan (Ship of
Women), a non-governmental organization working on education for
women and the poor, said that the government must follow the
Court's ruling, especially as the fuel price hikes have caused
more students to drop out.
"The allocation should emphasize educational programs,
particularly for the nine-year compulsory education. Which means
that elementary and junior high school must be free," Yanti said.
The government, she said, should also revise the related laws
and regulations that stipulate that the education budget must be
paid for by the government, parents and communities, and thus
free the government from its responsibility.
State Minister for National Development Planning Sri Mulyani
Indrawati, meanwhile, declined to comment on the Court's ruling,
pending further assessment of the issue.
Sri Mulyani and Minister of Education Bambang Sudibyo had
previously presented to the House of Representatives Commission
XI for financial affairs, a scheme in which the government would
increase each year the state budget's allocation for the
education sector by an average of 3 percent each year, until it
reaches 20.1 percent in 2009.
Data from the Ministry of Finance shows that the government
had for this year allocated Rp 24.6 trillion (some US$2.4
billion) -- or 9.29 percent of the government's total
expenditures -- for education through the national education and
religious affairs ministries, which is a 33 percent increase from
its allocation last year.
The House, however, agreed to provide Rp 33.7 trillion for the
sector in the budget's final revision, along with Rp 6.27
trillion in low-income assistance funds for educational purposes.
The amount seems larger, but it is actually lower by
percentage as the government's revised expenditures had also
increased to Rp 411.6 trillion.
For the 2006 state budget, the government has proposed a total
of Rp 31.3 trillion for the education sector, from the
government's Rp 375 trillion planned expenditures.
The proposed budget is being deliberated by the House and
could be approved in its plenary session on Oct. 27.