West Java DPRD Rejects Proposal to Reintroduce Public School Fees

Deputy Speaker of the West Java DPRD Ono Surono has rejected the discourse on re-implementing Education Development Contributions (SPP) in state schools. He urged the government to remain consistent in guaranteeing the public’s right to access free education for 12 years without additional financial burdens.

This rejection came in response to a proposal to collect fees targeted at parents of students in the socio-economic status categories of decile 6 to decile 10. Ono considered the decile-based approach inappropriate because the validity of public welfare data in the field is often problematic.

Ono highlighted that grouping people into deciles 6 to 10 does not automatically reflect strong economic capability. According to him, many facts on the ground show that residents who are considered well-off are actually still struggling financially.

‘It is not certain that people in the decile 6 to 10 categories truly have strong economic capabilities. Moreover, the fact is that many underprivileged residents do not receive social assistance or even have their BPJS deactivated due to data validity issues,’ Ono said in Bandung on Friday (17/7/2026).

The West Java DPRD stressed that limited school facilities should not be used as a reason or justification to collect SPP from parents again. Ono reminded that the law mandates the central and regional governments to allocate a minimum of 20 per cent of the budget to the education sector.

‘In my view, the focus should be on how the West Java Provincial Budget can meet all the needs of state schools without imposing the slightest cost on the public,’ he asserted.

In addition to advocating for state schools, Ono also encouraged the West Java Provincial Government to increase the portion of aid and incentives for private schools. This step is considered crucial so that private schools can improve the quality of their learning facilities without imposing high costs on parents.