Surabaya, NU Online
The East Java legislature has requested the government revamp the province's education and culture agency to ensure it can professionally manage its huge budget to improve the quality of education and human resources in the province.
Saleh Mukadar, chairman of the council's Commission E on education, culture and social affairs, said the government had to reform the education and culture agency, in addition to ensuring 20 percent of the budget was allocated to that sector.<>
The revamp, Saleh continued, was needed not only because the education budget in coming years would be much larger, but also because past budgets were not used effectively.
"The education and culture agency was unable to spend the budget according to its programs and targets," he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
Saleh expressed concern that the record funds would give rise to greater corruption if the agency was not revamped and failed to design education programs to rehabilitate damaged education facilities, improve teachers' competencies and social welfare at all levels, and intensify the 12-year compulsory education program.
With the recent agreement between the provincial government and the legislature to increase the educational budget to 20 percent of the province's total budget in accordance with the Constitution, the budget will be five times the current one.
East Java's 2008 budget is Rp 5 trillion, with Rp 200 billion earmarked for education.
A 2007 government audit found only 66 percent, or Rp 140.8 billion, of the education budget was spent, mostly on the nine-year compulsory education program.
"I fear that part of the education fund was used for non-education purposes, possibly for the ongoing gubernatorial race," Saleh said.
East Java Education Board chairman Zainuddin Maliki said the education fund should be used to resolve the numerous education problems in the province.
"A large number of teachers in the province do not have the required S-1 (bachelor's degree). The government is tasked with improving their competence, and hence the quality of education at all levels," he was quoted as saying by the Kompas daily.
Zainuddin added the government also bore the moral responsibility for allocating part of the education budget to help students from lower-income families, as well as private schools facing financial difficulties.
The Surabaya municipal administration has allocated Rp 15.5 billion to help more than 29,000 school-age children, who did not go to school because of financial constraints, and to support school overhead costs.
Tri Rismaharani, chairwoman of the city's planning and development board, said the city administration had allocated Rp 1.9 billion in financial aid for children aged between six and 12 years.
Another Rp 13.6 billion was allocated for children aged between 13 and 15 years, she added.
She said the additional budget was included in the revised budget draft and had been submitted to the city council for approval.
She also said the city administration had identified some 7,000 school-age children who missed out on elementary education, and more than 25,200 others without secondary education.
"They are the recipients of the government's financial aid," she said. (dar)
The East Java legislature has requested the government revamp the province's education and culture agency to ensure it can professionally manage its huge budget to improve the quality of education and human resources in the province.
Saleh Mukadar, chairman of the council's Commission E on education, culture and social affairs, said the government had to reform the education and culture agency, in addition to ensuring 20 percent of the budget was allocated to that sector.<>
The revamp, Saleh continued, was needed not only because the education budget in coming years would be much larger, but also because past budgets were not used effectively.
"The education and culture agency was unable to spend the budget according to its programs and targets," he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
Saleh expressed concern that the record funds would give rise to greater corruption if the agency was not revamped and failed to design education programs to rehabilitate damaged education facilities, improve teachers' competencies and social welfare at all levels, and intensify the 12-year compulsory education program.
With the recent agreement between the provincial government and the legislature to increase the educational budget to 20 percent of the province's total budget in accordance with the Constitution, the budget will be five times the current one.
East Java's 2008 budget is Rp 5 trillion, with Rp 200 billion earmarked for education.
A 2007 government audit found only 66 percent, or Rp 140.8 billion, of the education budget was spent, mostly on the nine-year compulsory education program.
"I fear that part of the education fund was used for non-education purposes, possibly for the ongoing gubernatorial race," Saleh said.
East Java Education Board chairman Zainuddin Maliki said the education fund should be used to resolve the numerous education problems in the province.
"A large number of teachers in the province do not have the required S-1 (bachelor's degree). The government is tasked with improving their competence, and hence the quality of education at all levels," he was quoted as saying by the Kompas daily.
Zainuddin added the government also bore the moral responsibility for allocating part of the education budget to help students from lower-income families, as well as private schools facing financial difficulties.
The Surabaya municipal administration has allocated Rp 15.5 billion to help more than 29,000 school-age children, who did not go to school because of financial constraints, and to support school overhead costs.
Tri Rismaharani, chairwoman of the city's planning and development board, said the city administration had allocated Rp 1.9 billion in financial aid for children aged between six and 12 years.
Another Rp 13.6 billion was allocated for children aged between 13 and 15 years, she added.
She said the additional budget was included in the revised budget draft and had been submitted to the city council for approval.
She also said the city administration had identified some 7,000 school-age children who missed out on elementary education, and more than 25,200 others without secondary education.
"They are the recipients of the government's financial aid," she said. (dar)
