West Java Prepares Scholarships for 80,000 Private School Students

The West Java Provincial Government is preparing a scholarship programme for 80,000 students attending private senior high schools (SMA) and vocational schools (SMK) to prevent children from dropping out of school due to economic constraints, with each student receiving Rp2.7 million per year. “Children in private schools will receive Rp2.7 million per year; today we are giving scholarships to 80,000 of them,” said West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi to reporters in Garut Regency on Wednesday. He explained that the provincial government has allocated a scholarship budget to cover approximately 80,000 students during their time at private schools. According to him, the existence of scholarships for private school students means that the free education programme in West Java has now reached 90 per cent coverage across both private and state schools. “This means almost all schools in West Java can be said to be 90 per cent ‘free’, funded by the provincial government,” he said. He noted that the West Java Provincial Government has established cooperation with 1,015 private schools to accommodate and accept students in an effort to prevent dropouts and assist those facing economic difficulties. “The schools are listed in an application; schools that do not cooperate will not appear in the application,” he said. He conveyed that this policy serves as a solution to prevent children from dropping out of school and to support students whose parents face economic problems, making them unable to continue their education to the higher SMA/SMK level. Beyond addressing student dropout issues, he said, the programme also assists private schools that in previous years frequently complained about student shortages due to many students enrolling in state schools. “Schools need pupils. Previously, there was an uproar about empty classrooms. Well, today, classrooms will not be empty for those that cooperate with the provincial government,” he said. He stressed that the scholarship budget is confirmed to be available through a reallocation of unused funds within the Education Agency, which are now being directed to more critical needs. “Once the Governor states the budget is available and allocated, then it is settled,” he said.