Two-day conference calls for decentralization of education
Two-day conference calls for decentralization of education
JAKARTA (JP): A two-day conference on education has issued a
series of recommendations to help the sector recover from the
crisis, including a form of decentralization that would improve
management.
Experts attending the event that ended Wednesday pointed out
how overlapping responsibilities for education among the
education, religious affairs and home affairs ministries caused
gross inefficiency.
They suggested that decentralization begin with the granting
of greater authority to districts and towns to tailor education
activities to their specific needs.
The conference, called "Education in Indonesia: From Crisis to
Recovery", was held by the National Development Planning Board in
cooperation with the World Bank.
In the proposed model of decentralization, a "new" agency in
charge of managing education matters in districts or towns is
needed, Jiyono, the leader of the team of experts, noted.
The new agency is to be established through a merger between
local offices of the related ministries.
"The task of this 'new' agency is to develop programs of
education and culture, set up targets, allocate budgets, monitor
and evaluate programs and make a plan for recruitment and
supervision of personnel," Jiyono said.
Some of the recent findings of the World Bank cited
institutional weaknesses as constraints on the quality of basic
education here, he noted.
"Government institutions in charge of primary education are
rather uncoordinated," Jiyono added.
Ki Supriyoko, the team's facilitator, cited how the education
ministry is responsible for subject matter, the quality of
education techniques, curriculum, teachers' certification and
qualifications, as well as student exams. The Ministry of Home
Affairs is responsible for education manpower such as recruitment
and appointment of teachers, as well as provision of supplies.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs is responsible for religious
instruction in public as well as private schools, he added.
"Such inefficiency and overlapping roles could be solved
through decentralization, which uses a one-roof system such as
the 'new' agency proposed for the district level," he said. "The
hard part is the implementation in the field."
Minister of Education and Culture Juwono Sudarsono concurred,
saying that Indonesians are renowned for creating movements, but
poor in implementation.
"We are very weak in running organizations, management and the
operation of concepts. So a big national plan for education here
is actually dependent on the people in the field," he said. (edt)