Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika says the province will need Rp 250 billion to provide a truly free education for the island's children by 2010.
"That amount will ensure the public real free-of-charge education, instead of the fake one," he said recently.
He was referring to several so-called free education programs that allegedly still burden students and their parents with various fees and compulsory "donations".
Mangku said the provincial administration had allocated Rp 125 billion from its annual budget to make the free education program a reality by 2010.
He urged all regency administrations across the province to come up with another Rp 125 billion.
"The amount each regency must set aside will be calculated based on the number of students in that regency and the regency's locally generated revenue," the governor said.
There are nine regencies and one municipality in the island.
"The regencies and municipality can employ any other method of calculation, as long as we can come up with another Rp 125 billion to match the fund already set aside by the provincial administration," Pastika said.
The availability of that fund, he went on, would enable the province to provide free education for students from elementary school to junior high, senior high and senior vocational school.
"Naturally, this free education will be offered to students who attend state-run schools," Pastika said.
"At present, we don't have the resources to extend this offer to students at private schools."
The free education program is part of Pastika's efforts to implement the universal 12-year compulsory education program across the island - a step further than the nine-year compulsory education championed by the national program.
"To make the 12-year compulsory education program a reality, starting from this year the provincial administration has provided a financial aid package for every student at state-run senior high schools and senior vocational schools across the island," the governor said.
Under the scheme, each student will receive financial aid of Rp 500,000, which they can use to pay non-tuition fees required by schools.
The provincial administration has allocated Rp 12 billion for the financial aid program.
Badung Regent A.A. Gde Agung welcomed Pastika's request to regional administrations to cough up an extra Rp 125 billion.
"We support the plan because free education will be a very beneficial program for the Balinese," he said. "Education should be free in the first place."
He pledged his regency would allocate Rp 12 billion for the program from its 2010 budget.
"That's quite a huge sum of money," he said.
Ni Komang Erviani
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