Provincial govt lambasted for neglecting education

Rusman, The Jakarta Post, Samarinda, East Kalimantan

A public policy observer has lashed out at the East Kalimantan provincial administration for paying little attention to education.

Sugeng Hariyadi said the administration had allocated only Rp 58.98 billion, or 2.1 percent, of its Rp 2.75 trillion (US$324 million) provincial budget this year toward education, far less than the minimum 20 percent education budget imposed by the Constitution.

"Given the very low budget proposed for education, the administration is apparently neglecting the education sector.

"It is sad, because education is very important to help improve the quality of human resources in the province," said Sugeng, a lecturer at the Samarinda State Polytechnic.

He was commenting on a draft provincial budget unveiled by East Kalimantan governor Suwarna before a recent meeting with the provincial legislative council.

According to the Constitution, central and regional governments must earmark a minimum 20 percent of their annual budgets for education, a policy that is seen as instrumental to improving the country's human resources.

The East Kalimantan provincial administration must provide at least Rp 540 billion in order to meet the policy this year.

Kasyful Anwar As'ad, the budget committee coordinator at the East Kalimantan provincial council, said the councillors understood the importance of a proper education budget.

Therefore, he said, councillors would demand at the next meeting that the administration increase the education budget.

According to data from the East Kalimantan provincial administration, about 54,000 of 2.63 million East Kalimantan residents -- or 2.72 percent of the provincial population -- are uneducated.

Meanwhile, 46.35 percent of the population have received secondary-level education -- whether in part or up until graduation -- while the remaining 45.87 percent have only received elementary-level education.

Only 5.6 percent of the provincial population have pursued their education to the university level.