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2008 budget bill neglects education
The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 10/06/2007 8:23 AM
Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Several legislators said they would vote against the 2008 state budget bill because of its failure to provide 20 percent of funds to the country's education sector, as mandated by the 1945 Constitution.
Slamet Effendy Yusuf, coordinator of a caucus calling for 20 percent the budget for education at the House of Representatives, and caucus member Djoko Susilo said they would not support the draft budget unless it fulfilled the constitutional mandate.
The House must vote to approve the bill on the state budget if one or more legislators reject it.
""Unlike previous years, the House will certainly have to vote in the draft budget,"" Slamet said Friday.
""But this will say to the country both the government and the House have breached the constitutional imperative.""
The draft budget was submitted by the government to the House in August and is still on the table. It allocates 12.02 percent, or Rp 48 trillion (US$5.28 billion) for education in 2008.
The education budget for 2007 was 11 percent.
The government however said it had allocated some 17 percent of the 20 percent required by the constitution, arguing another 6 percent was being channeled through the Religious Affairs Ministry for state-run Islamic schools and universities.
Djoko called on students and teachers to stage rallies outside the State Palace and the House to demand change.
He also called for more pubic spending to significantly improve the country's education quality, repair damaged education facilities and improve teacher training.
""The government's budget policy is very chaotic because a bigger portion of the education budget is spent to finance the bureaucracy and its programs and ignores education quality,"" he said.
M. Rusli Yunus, chairman of the Indonesian Teachers Union (PGRI), slammed the government and the House for their lack of commitment to improving the country's human resources.
He said Indonesia would remain a ""slavery nation"" if major capital was not invested in the education sector.
He also called on the government to enforce the 2003 education law and the 2005 teacher law, and to replace unpopular and old policies in the education sector.
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction also slammed the government's plan to conduct a national examination for elementary schools starting in 2008, saying the plan was against the nine-year compulsory education program.
PDI-P legislator Cyprianus Aoer said, like national exams for high school students, the planned national exam for elementary school students was against the goals of the country's laws on education.
""The government cannot focus simply on education goals,"" Cyprianus said.
""It must also focus on process, which is fundamental to educate students.
""And this must be entrusted to schools, particularly the teaching staff.
