T

he Bali Administration is moving toward implementing a 12-year mandatory education policy by providing a package of cash aid to every senior high school student on the island.

The 12 years of mandatory education means that every family will be obliged to ensure their children complete senior high school.

The total amount of the cash aid is Rp 12 billion and will be disbursed to all students of senior high schools and vocational high schools on the island.

"Each student will receive cash aid of Rp 500,000," Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika said.

The cash, Pastika added, could be used by the students to pay for entrance fees and a building donation.

It is common practice that schools require new students to pay a certain amount in entrance fees and a building donation.

The donation will be used to fund the expansion or the renovation of the school's facilities. The required amount will be much higher in schools considered prestigious.

"Therefore new students will not have to worry about this fee and donation any longer because the provincial administration will cover it with the aid," Pastika said.

The cash aid is financed through the education fund from the province's 2009 annual budget.

The budget allocates Rp 320 billion or 20 percent toward the education fund.

The aid will be delivered to the school committee of each respective senior and vocational high school. Members of the school committee are elected by the students' parents.

"The aid has yet to be disbursed because we are still waiting for the verification of the identities of new students," Pastika said.

The cash aid, he stressed, is the first move in implementing 12 years of mandatory education on the island.

"We plan to fully implement the policy in 2010," he said.

The policy also includes efforts to balance the ratio between senior high schools and vocational high schools.

"Presently, the ratio is 70:30. We want to achieve an ideal ratio of 50:50," he added.

A balanced ratio will enable the island's education system to yield increased numbers of graduates that possess working skills, thus reducing the rate of unemployment.

Bali Legislative Council (DPRD) Education Commission head Ketut Kariyasa praised the administration's policy.

"It goes further than the national initiative of nine years of mandatory education," he said.

However, he reminded the administration to monitor the implementation of the policy closely.

"Don't let students become burdened by numerous illegal fees and donations imposed by the schools," he said.