Legal suit awaits schools failing to provide free education

The Jakarta Post   |  Wed, 05/27/2009 8:13 PM  |  National

State elementary to junior high schools will face an impeachment should they fail to deliver free education, National Education Minister Bambang Sudibyo said Wednesday.

“Any school not complying with the regulation (will face legal accusation),” he said on the sidelines of a national coordination meeting in Semarang, as quoted by Antara state news agency.

Bambang said he had visited 10 regencies and municipalities in Central Java and found that they have been practicing their own versions of free education.

“The implementation of free education program does not have to be the same in all places, instead it should be carried out based on each region's autonomy principal and ability,” he said.

The country has been implementing tuition-free education during the compulsory school years since mid 2005. According to Bambang, ten provinces have adopted the program, including South Sumatera, Riau, and Maluku.

“Some of the provinces have even expanded the implementation to senior high school level, in proportion to their own ability and commitment,” he said.

He added that the indicator of what could be called a free education is specified by the regional government, and not the people, because the government is responsible in knowing and measuring its ability in implementing the free education program.

Bambang also said that free education does not ban parents to participate through donation.

School donations, he explained, are different from retributions, which specify an exact amount of money to be paid in a certain time span. Parents can donate their money as long as the school does not set the amount and time of payment, he said. (adh)
 

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