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pparently under pressure following trouble in the distribution of the Indonesian Smart Cards (KIP), a key point on President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s agenda, the Education and Culture Ministry is redoubling efforts to ensure the student cards reach their intended recipients.

The secretary of the ministry’s directorate general in charge of elementary and secondary education, Thamrin Kasman, said only some 6.7 million of the 17 million cards issued so far had been received by the rightful holders. He was referring to information compiled by the Center for Education Data.

He said the ministry was cooperating with two companies, Satria Antaran Prima (SAP) and Dexter Expressindo, to distribute the cards under agreements stipulating direct delivery.

“The cards should be delivered to each recipient’s house. However, we have received a report that the distribution ended at sub-district offices. We cannot rely on sub-district officials, because they may have insufficient funds to continue the distribution,” he said.

The KIP was introduced as the Jakarta Smart Card by then-Jakarta governor Jokowi in a bid to ensure that all children between the age of 6 and 21 get proper education.

When Jokowi won the 2014 presidential election, the program was expanded nationwide. It provides funds for students twice a year. Each elementary school child will receive Rp 225,000 (US$16.93), while junior and senior high school students receive Rp 375,000 and Rp 500,000 per semester, respectively.

The government is relying on the card to help ensure all citizens receive the free 12 years of education they are legally entitled to. Although public schools do not charge tuition fees, parents still need to come up with the cash for their children’s daily needs, such as school uniforms and transportation to and from school.

According to data published on the ministry’s website at pdsp.kemdikbud.go.id, the number of school dropouts is still high, although it is gradually decreasing.

During the academic year 2015-2016, 237,960 students dropped out of elementary and secondary schools. While the reasons may vary, a lack of funds has been identified as one of the main factors.

Culture and Education Minister Muhadjir Effendy said earlier this month that distributing all of the cards by the end of August, as initially planned, might be a steep order.

He claimed that a lack of coordination among regional authorities in ensuring the cards reached their rightful holders exacerbated the problem.

Thamrin said his office had cooperated with the Home Ministry in issuing a circular urging local administrations to help promote and distribute the cards.

The cards are also designed to help people who are not enrolled in formal education, whom the government aims to encourage to take informal courses. Thamrin said that out of 4.1 million intended recipients for informal education, only around 10,000 were confirmed to have received and used the cards.

Last week, the ministry embraced the Indonesia Smart Movement (GIP), an NGO established to monitor the distribution of the KIP.

The group, consisting of 17 people, has met officials from the ministry, offering its assistance to the program, which it says is performing poorly.

“I think one of the reasons for the Cabinet reshuffle was this problem,” Yanti Sriyulianti, the chairman of the organization, told the The Jakarta Post.

She added that based on her observations in many cities, poor people had yet to understand the function of the card, let alone get hold of it. (fac)