Budget for education increasing slowly

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The hopes of Indonesian children for better education still seem to be only a dream at the moment, as the government will only be able to meet the required budget stipulated in the Constitution for the country's education sector within the next three years.

Speaking at a hearing with House of Representatives Commission X for public welfare affairs on Monday, State Minister for National Development Planning Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the government could at best increase the education budget gradually each year to meet the requirement by 2009.

"The government's current financial condition would make it difficult to fulfill the requirement," she said, in the hearing which was also attended by the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Alwi Shihab and Minister of National Education Bambang Sudibyo.

"The government, however, will still be committed in its medium-term development plan to allocate more for education in accordance with the Constitution."

Indonesia's 1945 Constitution, which the House amended in 1999, requires the state to provide at least 20 percent of its annual state budget for education. The House and the previous administration had agreed however to a scheme wherein the government would gradually raise the amount.

According to the scheme, which the Commission reaffirmed in the hearing, the government will increase the budget allocation for the education sector by an average of 3 percent each year, from 9.29 percent this year to 20.10 percent in 2009.

Last year, the budget allocation for education was 6.5 percent.

Data from the finance ministry shows that the government had allocated Rp 18.4 trillion for education in 2004 through the national education and religious affairs ministries. The government plans to increase this to Rp 24.6 trillion this year.

Sri Mulyani further said that it would also be difficult for the government to provide additional education funds through the issuance of more state bonds, as the government is currently trying to reduce the budget's debt ratio.

"Such a decision might be politically popular, but not in terms of state fiscal management," she said.

Wrapping up the hearing, the Commission agreed to provide Rp 33.7 trillion for education next year. In the 2005 state budget revision, the House also approved Rp 6.27 trillion in funds for the schooling of children from low-income families.

Indonesia's schools are currently in a poor condition, which is reflected in the report from the education ministry that 16 percent of the country's secondary school students failed their final exams this year.