Experts hail 2003 education budget but warn of abuses

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Education experts praised on Sunday the government's plan to increase the education budget to Rp 13.6 trillion (US$1.5 billion) next year from Rp 11.6 trillion this year, but warned that it should closely monitor the allocation of the funds.

Experts J.P. Drost and Arief Rahman said the increase on education spending was necessary to help attain a good quality of human resources.

"It's a good signal from the government, but it must ensure that the funds go to the right persons, not to the corruptors," Drost told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

"There is an increased realization from the government that education is actually an investment in the future. This opportunity must be utilized by teachers to develop the education system, not a means to grab some easy money," Arif said.

According to Drost, the government had correctly allocated the planned funds to develop a nine-year obligatory education.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri said in her speech at the House of Representatives on Friday that the government planned to allocate Rp 13.6 trillion (US$1.5 billion) for education.

The amount accounts for some 25 percent of total development spending of Rp 55.5 trillion, but less than 4 percent of the total government expenditure of Rp 354 trillion.

Article 31 (4) of the amended 1945 Constitution stipulates that the state shall give priority to the education budget by allocating a minimum of 20 percent of the total state and regional budgets, to meet the costs of national education.

The government raised the education expenditure, although it's still far short of the 20 percent minimum as mandated in the amended Constitution.

Megawati said on Friday that the government would earmark the education funds for improving the implementation of the nine-year obligatory school curriculum.

The improvement would include rehabilitation, classification, and development of elementary schools and traditional Islamic schools as well as other schools, she said.

"Scholarships and aid for students from poor families will be raised," Megawati said.

The government would also decentralize education, she added.

Indonesia, under Megawati's father, President Sukarno had one of the best education systems in all of Asia, but in the past 30 years has fallen precipitously, as numerous ratings have put it as one of the worst in Asia.

Arief said with the increased funds, the government should be able to modify the standard of education, which only focused on memorization, while leaving out character building.

The government should also actively try to introduce education in rural, conflict and poor areas to help improve the standard of living for the millions of children in those areas, he said.

In the routine spending section of the budget, the government also planned to increase the salary of teachers, police and military officers as well as other civil servants by 10 percent starting Jan. 1, 2003.

The government also plans to increase teachers' basic benefit package by some 50 percent starting on Oct. 1 this year.

In addition, per diem amounts for police and military personnel deployed in war zones outside their home province (most military and police are from Java, but are stationed in areas such as Aceh and Papua) will be raised from Rp 12,500 to Rp 15,000 in January, 2003.