Rp 6.5b exam fund to be taken from City Budget

JAKARTA (JP): City Council endorsed on Thursday a proposal by the City Administration to cover the expenses of this year's national final examination (Ebtanas) for elementary and junior high schools in the city which amounts to Rp 6.5 billion (US$650,000).

"The Council has agreed to the city administration's proposal to finance this year's Ebtanas," head of the Council's Commission E for social welfare affairs, Edy Suchro, said in a hearing with city's education officials.

He said the fund would be taken from the auxiliary budget of the 2001 City Budget.

Edy, a councillor of the National Mandate Party (PAN) faction, said the Rp 6.5 billion fund excluded the Rp 3 billion which has been allocated from the City Budget this year.

He said the Council would monitor the use of the fund and inspect the schools to avoid "double counting" or misuse of the fund.

The administration has financed the expenses of the final exams for state elementary schools since last year. This year, the city has initially allocated Rp 3 billion for the elementary school exams.

Edy earlier said that Rp 3 billion of the 6.5 billion fund would be used to cover the examination expenses for 141,200 sixth-grade students of state and private elementary schools, including Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Islamic elementary schools.

The remaining Rp 3.5 billion will be used to finance the expenses of the final examination of 141,160 third-grade students of private and state junior high schools, including Madrasah Tsanawiyah Islamic junior high schools.

The city currently has 2,423 state elementary schools, 2,248 private elementary schools, 283 state junior high schools and 761 private junior high schools.

During the Thursday's hearing, the education officials, including head of the Jakarta office of the National Education Ministry Alwi Nurdin and head the City Education Agency Masrul Nim, however admitted that they had yet received an official announcement that the students would be freed from paying the examination fees.

"It's a verbal instruction from the central government to rescind the exam fees, but, until now, we have yet to receive any official decision," Masrul said.

He also admitted that the announcement that the students would be exempted from the examination fees has caused misunderstanding as some parents have complained to his office and demanded their children's schools also return the fees of farewell activities they had paid.

"Schools are not allowed to collect the examination fees. But, it's up to the schools to decide on the money which has been kept for months for the students' farewell activities," Masrul said.

He said the principals of the state schools would be reprimanded if they still oblige the students to pay the examination fees.

He said that he would cooperate with an association of private schools also to reprimand private schools which require their students to pay the fees. (jun)