Decentralization poses opportunities and challenges in education

Decentralization poses opportunities and challenges in education

Ardimas Sasdi
Staff Writer
The Jakarta Post
Berkeley, California
ajambak@calmail.berkeley.edu

The decentralization program launched by the government in
2001, including the delegation of further authority over
education, has raised hopes in some areas, but sparked anxiety in
others, especially among small towns and poor regencies.

Some areas of the country -- which received windfalls in
revenues from oil and gas after the launch of regional autonomy
-- saw decentralization as an opportunity to develop education as
a means to building the skilled human resources required to meet
the demands of a highly competitive world, in this era of
globalization.

Tarakan, a municipality in East Kalimantan and Bengkalis, a
regency in Riau, are two of many areas rich in natural resources,
which have invested a large chunk of their money in educational
projects.

Residents of resource-rich areas have long been disgruntled
over, what they view as, the unfair distribution of wealth during
the centralized administrative system -- which spanned five
decades and ended three years ago with the implementation of
regional autonomy.

Before decentralization, East Kalimantan, for example,
received Rp 1 trillion (US$ 125 million) out of Rp 77 trillion
contributed by the province to Jakarta, but now it receives more
than 10 times that amount in development funds.

Tarakan allocated 23 percent of its budget for education for
programs, such as, to renovate old schools, build new ones and
provide incentives for teachers and administrative staff. A
teacher at a public school receives an incentive of Rp 525,000
per month, while a school principal or comptroller get an
incentive of around Rp 850,000 per month plus a motorcycle. The
city has also built a university and awarded scholarships to
students with good academic achievements.

The amended Constitution states that the government should
earmark 20 percent of its budget for education, but so far only
one local administration has been able to fulfill this
constitutional obligation.

Bengkalis, a regency which serves as a main operational area
of the U.S. oil firm PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia, but is left
behind in education, allocated 18 percent of its budget for
education. Most of the funds were used to renovate old schools,
construct new ones and provide incentives for teachers to boost
their meager incomes.

The dramatic leap was, of course, a decision taken by
Bengkalis to send its teachers to Malaysia for an internship and
recruit teachers from the neighboring country. Malaysia -- which
still sent its students to study at Indonesian universities three
decades ago -- has surpassed Indonesia in the fields of
technology and economy, due to its progressive and visionary
programs in education.

The guest teachers -- mostly teachers of mathematics, physics,
chemistry and English at secondary school level -- received a
monthly payment of Rp 7.5 million ($900), an amount three times
the wage of a professor with 30-years teaching experience at an
Indonesian university. On top of that they received
transportation costs, housing allowances and other benefits.

Will the other 404 municipalities and regencies in the country
be able to follow the steps of these two oil-rich areas?

The answer to this hypothetical question is yes and no. There
are many other areas rich in natural resources, such as regencies
in Aceh, East Kalimantan, Papua, South Sumatra, Jambi and Riau
Islands.

There are also dozens of areas strong in industry, trade and
services, business and tourism, such as Jakarta, Surabaya, Bali,
Bandung, Medan, Palembang, Manado and Makassar. These areas would
not encounter problems in raising the funds needed to finance
local administration, including education, if their mayors and
regents were creative and not corrupt.

The rapid movement of middle-class and upper-middle class
people to Bogor, Tangerang, Bekasi and Depok in Greater Jakarta
in the last two decades also benefited these suburban areas in
view of higher income from property and vehicle taxes -- two
major sources of revenue in many areas.

The financial aspect was nonetheless only one factor in the
success of these areas in education.

While seen from an institutional perspective, the success of
schools is largely determined by factors like organizational
management, the process of recruitment, training and retention of
teachers and support from society.

These factors, blended with the political commitment of
leaders and sound planning -- which is translated into a
blueprint for education designed by a team of experts
knowledgeable in their fields -- are useful to avoid a patchwork
effect. They also ensure the continuation of programs and the
development of fields of expertise needed by end-users, and to
calculate the size of the market demand.

A good master plan should also take into account local
culture, language, economy, religious beliefs, diversity and
democracy. The launch of decentralization opened wider
opportunity for areas to promote education to equip youths with
the skills needed for jobs, and to provide initiatives, that
deserve the support of all parties.

On the other hand, regional autonomy is a challenge for other
areas to think intelligently and creatively in a collaborative
effort to generate the funds to finance education, a big
undertaking which needs the cooperation of all sectors.

The writer is a visiting scholar at the Graduate School of
Journalism of the University of California, Berkeley.