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House member pushes for immediate regulations after free education ruling
House member Maria Yohana Esti Wijayanti called for immediate regulations following the Constitutional Court’s ruling on free education for elementary and junior high schools.
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Elementary school pupils hold their civic registry documents while lining up to be photographed by Pontianak Population and Registry Registration Agency at SD 10 state elementary school in Pontianak, West Kalimantan on May 20, 2025. (Antara/Jessica Wuysang)
H
ouse of Representatives Commission X deputy chairwoman Maria Yohana Esti Wijayati has called for the immediate formulation of national regulations following the Constitutional Court’s ruling mandating free education at the elementary and junior high school levels.
“We need to act seriously and begin translating the Constitutional Court’s decision into actionable policy,” she said in Denpasar, Bali, on Friday, as quoted by tempo.co.
"Basic education, at both public and private elementary and junior high schools, must be free.”
The Constitutional Court granted a judicial review of the 2003 National Education System Law on Tuesday. The ruling is final and legally binding.
As such, all types of educational institutions, public, private and madrassas, must remain within the regulatory framework that governs the national curriculum and education standards.
Esti, a lawmaker from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), emphasized the need for regulations within the new bill on the National Education System to fully implement the court’s decision.
“We need clear legal guidelines to serve as the foundation for implementation. That means sitting down with the relevant ministries to develop a realistic and sustainable funding plan,” she said.
However, she also noted that implementing the mandate would require a significant increase in the state budget allocated to the Elementary and Secondary Education Ministry.
Currently, the ministry manages only around Rp 33 trillion (US$2.06 billion) out of a total national education budget exceeding Rp 740 trillion.
Esti suggested that other budget lines could be considered for reallocation to support the provision of free basic education.
While there were concerns from private schools due to the new policy, Esti said that certain institutions may still be permitted to charge fees under specific conditions outlined in the Court’s ruling, such as compliance with national education standards and curricula.
Esti added that some independent private schools would continue to have the flexibility to operate under their existing models.
Meanwhile, Coordinating Economy Minister Airlangga Hartarto said the government would first review the Constitutional Court's ruling before responding with a formal policy.
“We’ll look into it first,” said Airlangga in Jakarta on Wednesday, as quoted by cnbcindonesia.com.
