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.