To Ensure Optimal Absorption, Kemendikdasmen Changes PIP Fund Proposal Scheme

Bandung (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) is changing the proposal scheme for the Indonesia Pintar Programme (PIP) funds to ensure optimal absorption.

Deputy Minister of Education Atip Latipulhayat in Bandung, West Java, on Wednesday, stated that based on the data obtained, funds worth more than Rp600 billion were returned to the state treasury due to technical and geographical constraints in the field.

Atip emphasised that the return of funds due to these technical reasons was mostly not caused by violations, but rather by recipients’ lack of knowledge and inefficient bureaucratic processes.

“So, around Rp600 billion was returned. This return was mainly caused by reasons that are actually not violations, but due to lack of knowledge, lack of clarity, and geographical reasons. We will fix that,” said Deputy Minister Atip at the launch of Jaga Indonesia Pintar with the Attorney General’s Office.

Deputy Minister Atip proposed that submissions be made directly by schools, not through the local government’s Education Office (Disdik), so that the incoming data is more factual according to the students’ conditions.

Meanwhile, the Attorney General’s Office stated that the Jaga Indonesia Pintar platform serves as a direct supervision system for PIP recipients to report any form of fund deductions or abuse of authority.

Deputy Attorney General for Intelligence (Jamintel) Reda Manthovani emphasised that this system provides direct access for students and parents to report if the received PIP funds are not intact.

If findings in the field are only administrative errors, he continued, the Attorney General’s Office will hand over the data to Kemendikdasmen for governance improvements.

Meanwhile, West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi believes this collaboration will ensure the safety of reporters so that the public is not afraid to reveal illegal levy practices in school environments.