National Examination fees to be waived, Yahya says

National Examination fees to be waived, Yahya says

JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of National Education ended the
year by introducing a plan to waive National Examination fees for
elementary and junior high school students and to provide a Rp
75,000 monthly incentive for some 450,000 selected teachers in
the private sector.

"We have been given an additional 2.1 percent over the
original Rp 11.3 trillion budget for education in 2001, and these
extra funds will be used to develop the nine-year basic education
program and improve teacher's welfare," Minister of National
Education Yahya Muhaimin said on Monday at a year-end media
briefing.

"It's a lot less than our expectations and that is why we have
to concentrate on specific programs and set our priorities,"
Yahya said.

The Directorate General of Basic and Secondary Education will
get some Rp 1.5 trillion of the additional funds, most of which
will go to improving the quality of children's education.

The payment for additional teaching hours will also be raised
from Rp 1,000 per hour to Rp 10,000.

"As of next year we will cover the Rp 192 billion annual cost
of the National Examinations (Ebtanas) for elementary and junior
high school students. Therefore, all pupils from both private and
public schools will no longer have to pay," Director General for
Basic and Secondary Education Indra Djati Sidi said.

Previously only elementary and junior high school students in
public schools were exempted from paying the Ebtanas fee.

Indra said that the current budget could not cover those in
senior high schools as the total cost for this would amount to an
estimated Rp 255 billion per year.

"The ministry has no money to cover the fees for the senior
high school Ebtanas. So we have to go one step at a time," he
said.

Incentive

Indra further explained that some Rp 286 billion has been
allocated for the private sector teachers' incentive beginning in
January.

However not all private sector schoolteachers would be
eligible to receive the incentive.

"We are being selective in giving the incentive as teachers
from top private schools no longer need this kind of a bonus. The
scheme is meant to target around 90 percent of the approximately
500,000 private sector schoolteachers nationwide," Indra said.

The selected teachers, from both elementary and senior high
schools, will receive Rp 75,000 each month while kindergarten
teachers will get Rp 50,000 per month.

"The system used to disburse the fund is similar to the Social
Safety Net (JPS) program in which the money will go directly to
the teacher's account," Indra said while adding that a special
community monitoring and complaints unit would be set up to
oversee the scheme.

"We have to admit that out of the total of 1.7 million
teachers across the country, we have only paid attention to
teachers from public schools," Indra remarked.

Minister Yahya further revealed that his office was preparing
a major internal reorganization which would involve the
reassignment of around 1.7 million of the ministry's employees.

"With regional autonomy, there will only be some 107,000
employees working in the ministry's office (in Jakarta). The rest
will go to the respective offices in the regions," Yahya said.

Director General for Higher Education Satryo Soemantri
Brodjonegoro added that as a consequence of regional autonomy,
three educational institutes would have their status changed from
private to state universities.

These are Tirtayasa University in Banten, Chairun University
in Ternate, the capital of North Maluku, and Malikussaleh
University in Lhokseumawe, Aceh.

"We are also continuing to monitor educational activities in
disturbed areas such as Pattimura University in Ambon," Satryo
said.

Minister Yahya further added that the alternative education
program for children in areas hit by conflicts and natural
disasters would continue.

"We will be consistent in promoting the education trilogy,
which is the mastering of basic science, inculcation of civics
and moral teachings, and fostering the reading habit," Yahya
said.

"We have to save our nation from producing a uneducated
generation."

Ministry data from 1994/1995 to 1998/1999 shows that at least
11.7 million of the country's children failed to complete either
formal or non-formal education, with many of them ending up in
the work force as child labor.

Meanwhile, 7.5 million children of school age are not enrolled
in school. Various reasons from the economic crisis to conflicts
and natural disasters have contributed to the high number of
children missing school. (edt)