DPR Member Assesses Education Budget Allocation as Not Meeting Actual Needs
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Commission X of the Indonesian House of Representatives assesses that the calculation or allocation of the national education budget does not yet reflect real needs in the field, necessitating improvements based on regional conditions to ensure equitable education services reach remote areas.
Member of Commission X of the House of Representatives, Muhamad Nur Purnamasidi, in his statement in Jakarta on Tuesday, said that the current budgeting approach remains general and does not consider differences in challenges between regions.
He stated that the government does not yet have detailed calculations regarding the real cost of education per child, especially in areas with limited access that require higher costs.
“So far, the education budget calculation has not touched on real needs in the field; the calculation conducted is still too general,” he said.
According to him, several important needs such as transportation, teacher distribution, and additional facilities often do not enter the budget scheme, thus impacting the quality of education services in the regions.
Purnamasidi exemplified the situation in Karimun Regency, Riau Islands, where the cost of education per student can be higher due to geographical factors and limited access.
He emphasised that the state remains obligated to guarantee equal education services, even if the number of students in a region is relatively small.
“Even if the number of students in a school is only five, those students must still receive the same education services,” he said.
Affirmative Policy
In addition, his side emphasised the need for affirmative policies for underdeveloped, frontier, outermost, and marginal areas (3T), including in the equitable distribution of facilities and infrastructure and quality teachers.
Purnamasidi also highlighted the importance of incentives for teachers serving in remote areas, given the greater challenges compared to urban areas.
“There must be different and more adequate compensation, because the challenges faced are far greater, from limited facilities, transportation access, to social conditions in the field,” he said.
Therefore, his side encourages changes in teacher governance through centralised management, including salaries that no longer burden local governments so they can focus on improving education quality.
In addition, the government is urged to accelerate the integrated development of education infrastructure, implement adaptive curricula based on local wisdom, and provide affirmative budgets for underdeveloped, frontier, and outermost areas (3T).
Based on data from the Data and Information Centre of the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, out of 514 regencies/cities, there are 214 regions with poor education access categories and only 12 3T regions with good access categories.
This finding indicates that disparities in education services still occur, thus requiring more specific policy interventions based on regional needs.
In the 2026 State Budget, the education sector budget is allocated at Rp757.8 trillion or around 9.8 percent compared to the 2025 budget outlook of Rp690.1 trillion.