Deputy Minister Warns Schools Against Treating BOSP Funds as Free Shopping Bonuses

Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education (Wamendikdasmen) Fajar Riza Ul Haq has warned thousands of schools in West Java receiving the 2026 School Operational Assistance (BOSP) not to treat the disbursement of funds as a bonus or a free shopping spree. Wamendikdasmen Fajar emphasised that the Ministerial Regulation on Primary and Secondary Education Number 8 of 2026 demands a reform in the management of the national education budget worth Rp59.2 trillion, whereby every rupiah must be allocated based on the Education Report Card data and the root problems of the school, not merely for the fulfilment of administrative reports. “BOSP Kinerja is not a bonus or a free-for-all. Do not start from a shopping list, but from the data and root problems that exist in the school. The measure is not just that the funds are absorbed and the report is completed, but whether learning improves, teachers develop, and the results are felt by the pupils,” said Wamendikdasmen Fajar in a statement in Bandung on Thursday. He made the remarks while opening a Regional Facilitator training at the West Java Education Quality Assurance Centre (BBPMP) in Padalarang on Wednesday (22/7), where he revealed that in West Java, the Best Performance BOSP scheme reaches 3,436 education units across 27 regencies and cities, including 1,426 private schools. Wamen Fajar also highlighted the crucial importance of the accuracy of the Basic Education Data (Dapodik). He warned that data manipulation could lead to the misallocation of state budget funds, making strict oversight from school committees and the community essential. Responding to the challenge of limited financial management capacity among school principals, as found in a Policy Brief by the Centre for Education Standards and Policy (PSKP), 80 prospective regional facilitators in West Java have been deployed to assist schools in 208 learning clusters. The Head of BBPMP West Java, Komalasari, stated that technical guidance has been prepared to produce facilitators capable of optimally overseeing the utilisation of BOSP Kinerja in the field. Wamendikdasmen Fajar also urged the facilitators to work as problem-solving partners so that the integration of digital technology and these performance-based funds can significantly boost students’ literacy and numeracy scores. “Facilitators are communicators of goodness as well as orchestrators of change. Accompany the school principals, involve the committees and the community, and ensure every school has clear targets. I want West Java to become a special province because of the quality of its education,” said Wamendikdasmen Fajar Riza Ul Haq.