Larger budget will ensure better education: Academic

Larger budget will ensure better education: Academic

Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A sincere political commitment accompanied by an increased budget
allocation are what the government needs to improve primary
education in the country, an academic said on Thursday.

Arief Rachman, co-founder of the Lab School, said the
government had long neglected education and did not consider it a
priority in the country's development program as proven by the
miniscule education allocation in the annual state budget.

"Compared to Indonesia, neighboring countries such as Malaysia
and Singapore spend a lot more in their budgets on education,"
Arief said.

He was commenting on the latest report by the United Nations
Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) that
gave Indonesia the lowest marks in Southeast Asia for school
dropouts.

The report revealed that 7 percent of Indonesia's 26 million
children aged below 12 years old quit primary school, mostly in
the fifth year, in 2000.

Indonesian children are among 46 million children in South and
East Asia who do not attend school, with more girls (28 million)
than boys (18 million) not attending elementary schools.

The amended Constitution stipulates that the government must
allocate 20 percent of the state budget for education, but the
government has said it would only implement that in 2009 at the
earliest.

Arief suggested that the government change the school
management system, by giving equal opportunities for both bright
students and slower ones.

"Currently, there is this wrong conception that high rates of
repeaters and failed students in a school reflects the high
quality of a school," Arief told The Jakarta Post.

He also emphasized the role of parents, who he said were too
demanding but failed to create a favorable atmosphere for their
children to study in.

Separately, Director General of Elementary and Secondary
Education Indra Djati Sidi, told The Jakarta Post that the
government had allocated Rp 1.6 trillion (US$188 million) a year
to pay tuition fees of approximately 8.1 million primary school
students.

The government, he said, expected the funds would lower the
dropout rate especially in elementary schools, which stood at 2.5
percent of all children in 2003, according to the education
ministry's data.

Indra said the government was facing further difficulty in
implementing the nine-year compulsory education program due to
geographic, demographic and cultural obstacles.

"Many children, particularly those who live in remote areas,
are reluctant to go to school because their schools are located
far away from their homes," said Indra.

Less educated families, he said, usually do not consider
education a priority for their children. Instead they prefer to
have children help them make money.

"To improve the education level, we have to work together with
the regional governments in accordance with the autonomy law.
School committees could also play an important role in explaining
the importance of education to people," he said.