No free education yet for students
Leony Aurora, Jakarta
The government has alleviated some school-related fees borne by parents this year by eliminating school maintenance and development fees, but parents are still obligated to contribute toward operational costs, a city education official said on Tuesday.
Head of the Jakarta Middle and High School Education Agency Margani Mustar reminded schools that this year, they could not charge fees for maintenance and development, which includes building new classrooms, repairing old ones, constructing fences and others, which would be covered by the administration.
Agency spokesman Abdul Hamid said schools must instead submit construction proposals for approval and funding, which would be decided and disbursed at least by the beginning of the 2005-2006 academic year.
Meanwhile, the agency is preparing a guideline on parental contributions to schools, which are to have no limit.
"The National Education Law stipulates that education is not only the responsibility of the government, but parents and the community as well," said Margani.
Parents may contribute toward operational costs, extra classes, honorariums for additional teachers and luxuries such as air conditioners for classrooms.
At the beginning of the academic year, schools draw up budgets, which are discussed by parents and School Committees to determine the one-time donation and monthly fees to be paid by parents.
School Committees were established under Ministerial Decree No. 044/U/2002, for the purpose of ensuring public involvement in the management of schools and supervising the use of school funds.
Last year, many parents lodged complaints, saying that schools charged exorbitant fees. The City Council proposed at the time that the administration set a ceiling for parent contributions, but the proposed policy was not followed up.
Schools receive quarterly funds from the Jakarta administration, calculated according to student population, to cover operational costs such as utilities, books and others.
For example, state senior high school 70 in Blok M, South Jakarta, receives Rp 52 million ($5,831) quarterly, or Rp 208 million annually, for its 1,200-strong student body -- about Rp 175,000 per student.
"How can you expect top-notch education with this amount?" said Abdul.
The administration has allocated less than 30 percent of its Rp 11 trillion (US$1.23 million) budget this year toward education and health.
"There should be a cross-subsidy. School Committees should find solutions for poor students," asserted Margani. "No students should drop out of school just because they cannot afford the set fees."
Abdul said the agency was to conduct a study to determine the ideal breakdown per student, but did not provide a specific time frame.