Tangerang to spend 49 percent of 2005 budget on education

Tangerang to spend 49 percent of 2005 budget on education

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

The Tangerang municipal administration has proposed allocating Rp
379 billion (US$40.75 million), or 49 percent of its Rp 769
billion 2005 budget, for the education sector.

That would be a 7 percent increase from this year's Rp 238
billion budget allocation for education. Tangerang's total budget
this year is Rp 569 billion.

Mayor Wahidin Halim said on Wednesday most of the money next
year would be used to upgrade schools, including building
libraries and laboratories.

"We plan to allocate Rp 226 billion for the construction of
220 school buildings next year. Having more schools in the
municipality is a priority because education is a basic part of
improving the quality of human resources," he said.

The administration also will allocate Rp 28.5 billion to
increase the salaries of teachers, and Rp 4.5 billion to provide
scholarships for poor students. The rest of the money will be
allocated for routine expenditures.

"By prioritizing education, we hope the next generation will
grow up knowledgeable about science and faith," he said.

Achieving this will require officials to be honest,
responsible, disciplined and loyal, with a great deal of
professional integrity and morality. They also will need to put
the public's needs before their own, he said.

Wahidin said the next priority would be to improve the welfare
of teachers, which would be dealt with in the 2006 budget.

The Constitution stipulates that a minimum of 20 percent of an
administration's total budget should be allocated for education.
However, few administrations ever meet this benchmark.

The speaker of the municipal council, Krisna Gunata, said
councillors supported this focus on education.

"We will approve the administration's proposed budget
allocation to build 220 school buildings next year," he said,
adding that the official approval would come by the end of this
month.