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.