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ollowing the Constitutional Court'€™s rejection of an initial judicial review to make 12-year education compulsory for all citizens, the Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPI) is planning to file a second petition challenging the 2003 law on the national education system.

The coalition'€™s lawyer, Ridwan Darmawan, said that while the court had described its verdict, which was delivered earlier this month, as '€œlegal and binding'€, several legal experts had said there was still a chance for petitioners to file for a second judicial review.

'€œWe are currently reviewing the court'€™s verdict to decide how we are going to approach [our second petition]. That may mean filing for a judicial review of more articles, such as Article 17, which stipulates that basic education includes high school,'€ Ridwan said on Thursday.

The coalition initially filed a judicial review of Article 6 Point 1 to the court on Sept. 5 last year. It insisted that the article in question, which stipulates that primary education is compulsory for all citizens aged seven to 15, was outdated.

However, the Constitutional Court rejected the petition a year later, reaching a verdict without gathering evidence or witness testimonies.

Ridwan explained that the law was connected to Article 31 of the 1945 Constitution, which stipulates that all citizens have the right to basic education, with fees covered by the government.

'€œWhen [President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo] was campaigning, he initiated the idea of a mental revolution, revolving around the principle of 12 years of compulsory education. We want to remind [the court] how important this issue is, as education is a human right and the state must be responsible for it,'€ he said.

Gatot Subroto of the Culture and Education Ministry'€™s research and development division explained that although the ministry was committed to providing 12 years of compulsory education for all citizens, its room for action was severely constrained by its annual budget.

While education accounted for 20 percent of the entire state budget, Gatot said, the allocation was divided between the Religious Affairs Ministry, the Research and Technology and Higher Education Ministry and the Culture and Education Ministry, which is slated to receive Rp 49.2 trillion (US$3.5 billion) in the draft 2016 state budget bill.

'€œIf we see the real figures, the ministry only gets 10 percent of the 20 percent [set aside for education] to provide 12 years'€™ schooling for all children. If one does the calculations, it is simply not enough,'€ he said.

Reni Marlinawati, a lawmaker and member of House of Representatives Commission X overseeing education, youth affairs, tourism, art and culture, said that while the 2003 law had been included in the National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) for the 2015-2019 period, it would take years to be revised and implemented.

Reni argued that it would be much faster and more effective for the Constitutional Court to order a revision of the law, as doing so would put pressure on the government to fulfil its constitutional duties.

'€œIf 12-year compulsory schooling remains just a policy, then the government will continue to approach it half-heartedly. [However], if the Court slams the gavel and puts its foot down, then the government will spring into action to implement the [revised] law,'€ Reni said.

The United Development Party (PPP) member also expressed concern over the government'€™s commitment to education in light of the fall in the ministry'€™s budget allocation from Rp 53.27 trillion in 2015 to Rp 42.9 trillion in next year'€™s planned state budget.