Financial Accountability for Quality Education

Amid high public expectations for improving the quality of national education, reassuring news has come from the Ministry of Education complex.

The Financial Report of the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) for the 2025 fiscal year has successfully obtained an unqualified opinion (WTP) from the Audit Board of Indonesia (BPK RI).

This achievement is evidence of Kemendikdasmen’s commitment to realising financial governance that is accountable, transparent and can be justified in accordance with the principles of good governance.

Furthermore, it strengthens public trust that every rupiah of the education budget is managed responsibly to support the realisation of quality education services for all Indonesian people.

However, behind this achievement, a critical, objective and continuous improvement-oriented perspective is still required. The WTP opinion is not the final goal, but rather an important foundation in building accountable, transparent and integrity-based government governance. The success in maintaining this opinion must be accompanied by strengthening the oversight function, whether through internal control systems, built-in supervision or external oversight, so that every state financial management process runs in accordance with regulations and is able to minimise the risk of irregularities.

The quality of financial governance is not only measured by the accuracy of financial report preparation, but also by the effectiveness of oversight in ensuring that every rupiah of the State Budget (APBN) is managed efficiently, on target and provides real benefits for students, teachers, education personnel and education units.

Thus, oversight is not merely a control mechanism, but also a strategic instrument to ensure that every education policy and budget truly serves to improve the quality of education for Indonesia’s children.

The official report of Kemendikdasmen (2026), delivered by Minister Abdul Mu’ti at a working meeting with Commission X of the House of Representatives on 15 July 2026, recorded that budget realisation for 2025 reached Rp62.17 trillion, or 96.64 percent of the ceiling of Rp64.34 trillion. If the blocked ceiling is excluded, absorption even reached 98.55 percent, with budget performance rated as very good. This financial performance was accompanied by other governance achievements, including a BB rating for the Government Agency Performance Accountability System (SAKIP), an A rating for the Public Service Index (IPP), and a Stakeholder Satisfaction Index (IKPK) of 88.70.

The statistics show that Kemendikdasmen’s success is measured not only by high budget absorption, but also by the quality of governance and public services provided. From a public administration perspective, these achievements reflect the application of good governance principles. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP, 1997) emphasises that good governance is underpinned by accountability, efficiency, participation and legal certainty.

This is in line with the view of David Osborne and Ted Gaebler (1992) in Reinventing Government, which urges modern bureaucracy to shift from merely rowing (spending funds) to steering (creating value for the public). This paradigm is evident in the policy direction of Kemendikdasmen under the leadership of Minister Abdul Mu’ti. The budget is prioritised for strategic programmes: school revitalisation, digitalisation of learning, character education, the Indonesia Smart Programme (PIP), improving teacher quality and competence, vocational education, and 13 years of compulsory education.

Viewed from the strategic management perspective put forward by Fred R. David (2017), Kemendikdasmen has demonstrated the ability to realise strategic alignment through the harmonisation of planning, implementation and budget evaluation with national development targets. This alignment serves as an important foundation to ensure that every programme and use of the budget makes a real contribution to achieving development goals in education.

In line with this, the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) concept introduced by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton (1996) emphasises that the performance of public organisations cannot be measured solely from the financial aspect. Performance assessment must also include the perspective of service recipients, the effectiveness of internal processes, and organisational learning and development. Thus, the WTP opinion is an important indicator in the aspect of financial governance, but it must be accompanied by improvements in the quality of education services, the effectiveness of programme implementation, and strengthened oversight so that the benefits are truly felt by the public.

The combination of the WTP rating, SAKIP and the Public Service Index demonstrates a balance between financial health and the effectiveness of internal processes. The strategic leadership of Minister Abdul Mu’ti has succeeded in consolidating a culture of accountability within the primary and secondary education bureaucracy, in line with John P. Kotter’s (1996) leadership theory on the importance of building an adaptive direction for change.

The WTP opinion achieved by Kemendikdasmen must serve as capital to strengthen the management and oversight of the education budget so that it has a real impact on improving the quality of primary and secondary education. Accountable, transparent and effective budget management must be able to reduce disparities in access to education, improve the quality of learning, and expand opportunities to obtain quality education services across all regions of Indonesia.

Ultimately, every education policy and budget is an investment in civilisation to build excellent human beings, leading to the realisation of graduates who are outstanding, globally competitive and possess strong character as a foundation for welcoming Golden Indonesia 2045.