West Java Government and Council Discuss Reintroducing Tuition Fees for Affluent Students
The West Java provincial government and the West Java Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) have begun deliberating a proposal to reactivate the Education Development Contribution (SPP) for students from affluent families, during a working meeting of the Special Committee for the Draft Regional Regulation (Ranperda) on the Organisation of Education this week.
The idea has emerged as a solution to cover shortfalls in school operational funding.
So far, the proposal under discussion is that the reintroduction of SPP payments would not be imposed on all students, but only on those from well-off families, categorised as Decile 6 through Decile 10.
Students from poor and vulnerable families, Decile 1 to Decile 5, would continue to receive free education.
The head of the West Java Education Office, Purwanto, stressed that the idea remains at the discussion stage and has not become an official decision.
“It is still under discussion. So, we shall see how it develops, and whether the expectations emerging from these talks can be realised,” said Purwanto after a meeting at the West Java DPRD building on Tuesday (14 July), as reported by DetikJabar.
Purwanto explained that one of the reasons behind the SPP reactivation proposal is that many state schools need additional funding sources so that the quality of education services can be improved.
“Well, first of all, there is an aspiration that these schools need sufficient supporting budgets,” he said.
Meanwhile, the chairperson of Commission V of the West Java DPRD, Yomanius Untung, said discussions on reactivating SPP for senior high and vocational schools—education levels managed by the provincial government—stem from the fact that the budgets schools currently receive fall far short of the ideal requirements for providing quality education.
According to Yomanius, the appropriate cost for one senior high school student is estimated at around Rp4.5 million per year. At present, however, the government can only meet about 40 per cent of that requirement.
He said SPP reactivation would open up new funding space for schools to improve the quality of learning, from enhancing teacher competence and repairing facilities and infrastructure to supporting the development of students’ talents.
“If this reactivation goes ahead, we would in fact be helping the younger generation to receive better learning and knowledge. Because with reactivation, there will be budget opportunities to upgrade the quality and competence of teachers, and that upgrade requires funds,” said Yomanius on Wednesday (15 July), as quoted by DetikJabar.
He explained that school budget needs extend beyond classroom teaching and learning. Additional funds are also needed to repair educational facilities and to give students broader room to develop their potential through various non-academic activities.
Furthermore, Yomanius said that if schools have more adequate budgetary support, students will have greater opportunities to excel in competitions at various levels.
“What is the ultimate goal? The ultimate goal is for our children to have better quality than they do now. Especially when we look at it nationally, the IQ of our children—one indicator being that the quality of our senior high school graduates is equivalent to junior high school graduates in the Philippines,” said Yomanius.
“And secondly, we still have difficulty competing with other children in gaining entry to world-class universities. Never mind world-class, we often lose out even to leading universities at the national level,” added the council member, who was elected from the West Java XI electoral district (Sumedang, Subang and Majalengka regencies).
Dedi Mulyadi’s response
West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi holds a different view. KDM, as he is affectionately known, stated that now is not yet the time for schools to resume collecting SPP from the public.
According to him, before discussing funding sources through SPP reactivation, all schools must first be able to manage School Operational Assistance (BOS) funds optimally.
“We need to conduct an in-depth review. If the governor reactivates SPP, public opinion will shift again—the governor does not prioritise education,” said KDM on Wednesday, as quoted by DetikJabar.
KDM added that he has toured various senior high schools across West Java and found that the quality of school management is determined not solely by the size of the budget, but also by a school’s managerial ability to make use of BOS funds.
“I have visited every school using BOS funds. One school uses BOS funds and it is a mess. SMA 1 Depok uses BOS funds and it is tidy, and I asked the head teacher, ‘How can your school be so tidy?’ He replied, ‘We manage it well,’” he said.
Therefore, KDM stated that his main focus at present is ensuring all schools can manage BOS funds effectively before considering the reintroduction of SPP.
If shortfalls remain, particularly regarding educational facilities and infrastructure, KDM assured that the West Java provincial government will step in to help through the provincial budget.