North Sumatra Governor partners with High Prosecutor's Office to prevent school budget misappropriation

Medan, North Sumatra - The Governor of North Sumatra, Bobby Nasution, has partnered with the North Sumatra High Prosecutor’s Office (Kejati Sumut) to prevent budget misappropriation in school administration.

“The North Sumatra Provincial Government, together with the North Sumatra High Prosecutor’s Office, is strengthening assistance for schools,” said Bobby during the socialisation of the Kejati Sumut programme, ‘Jaksa Sahabat Pendidik’ (Prosecutors as Friends of Educators), at the North Sumatra Governor’s Office on Tuesday.

He stated that the North Sumatra Provincial Government, district/city governments, the North Sumatra High Prosecutor’s Office, and District Prosecutor’s Offices across the province have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide a sense of security for school principals and teachers in performing their duties.

The programme was initiated by the North Sumatra High Prosecutor’s Office through the ‘Jaksa Sahabat Pendidik’ initiative, which provides assistance to school principals, as well as budget users and budget implementers in the administration of education, specifically regarding budget management.

According to the Governor, this step was taken due to the high number of complaints received by the High Prosecutor’s Office regarding school budget management and interference from external parties against schools.

“This is an extraordinary initiative. It provides a sense of security and allows school principals and teachers to be more at ease. It prevents school budget deviations, as we want the governance of education to continue to improve,” said Bobby.

He revealed that many irresponsible organisations or individuals have been issuing threats regarding budget management to school principals, budget implementers, and budget users in North Sumatra.

“If a Governor-level figure is intimidating, that is at the provincial, national, or even international level. Regencies add a district level, sub-districts add a sub-district level. Schools even face threats at the village or neighbourhood level. We hope we can handle this together,” Bobby added.

Meanwhile, the Head of the North Sumatra High Prosecutor’s Office, Muhibuddin, stated that education is not only a process of transforming knowledge but also of character building to foster better values.

Therefore, he continued, the ‘Jaksa Sahabat Pendidik’ programme does not only provide assistance in school budget administration but also encourages the improvement of educational governance.

“A friend is someone who reminds their friend when they are wrong and supports them when they are right. This is our effort to improve the administration of education so that it can further advance,” he said.

In addition to the signing of the MoU, the North Sumatra High Prosecutor’s Office also launched a complaint hotline (08116884660).

“Through this service, the public, teachers, and school principals can report various unlawful acts, such as abuse of authority, bribery, illegal levies, and alleged corruption,” Muhibuddin said.