ISMP Kaltim Suggests Decentralising School Uniform Distribution

The Chairman of the Indonesian School Management Scholars Association (ISMP) for East Kalimantan (Kaltim), Abdul Rozak, has suggested that the provincial government decentralise the distribution process for tens of thousands of free school uniform packages for new senior high school (SMA) and vocational high school (SMK) students in the region. In addition to decentralising distribution, Abdul Rozak, who is also an education practitioner in Kaltim, offered several solutions to accelerate the distribution of 65,000 free uniform packages for new SMA/SMK students. “This free uniform programme from the government is fundamentally very good, but over the past two years it has frequently encountered distribution delays, only being completed in November,” said Abdul Rozak in Samarinda on Friday. This situation creates a psychological and social burden for new students, as they feel self-conscious if they must continue wearing their junior high school (SMP) uniforms in their new school environment. Rozak further stated that decentralising school uniform distribution could be achieved by granting autonomy to each school to collaborate with local Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) or school cooperatives that are legal entities. “With a decentralised scheme, uniform measurements can be taken directly during new student re-registration, so the production process can be completed within one week to ten days before the new academic year begins,” said the East Kalimantan Education Council board member. The second scheme, he said, involves preparing standard sizes such as M, L, and XL as early as May or June. The provision of these sizes can be based on data mapping of junior high school graduates, allowing the government to procure and distribute the uniforms more quickly to target schools. Rozak also proposed improving the distribution scheme so that this priority government programme can be more effective and reach vulnerable communities through an affirmative action pathway. He suggested that instead of simply providing standard national uniforms to all students, the government should focus on providing a complete set of uniforms specifically for children from underprivileged families. “This affirmative action pathway will be far more targeted, providing tremendous benefits for families who truly need it, and will be easier to implement through cooperation with school cooperatives,” Rozak said.