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View all search resultsEducation bill revision puts focus on budget allocation
With the Education Law revision set to bring sweeping changes, teachers and observers urge lawmakers to bring the revised law to reform how the constitutionally mandated 20 percent of state spending on education is allocated.
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Students participate in learning activities using an interactive digital screen at SDN Cimahi Mandiri 1 state elementary school in Cimahi, West Java, on Sept. 22, 2025. (Antara/Abdan Syakura)
W
ith deliberations underway in the House of Representatives to revise the Education Law, expectations are high that lawmakers will introduce safeguards to ensure the country’s education budget is directed to programs with a direct impact on the sector, rather than to misplaced or politically driven policies.
During a plenary session on Wednesday, lawmakers agreed to retain a bill revising the 2003 National Education System (Sisdiknas) Law in the 2025 National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) and to include it on next year’s priority legislation list.
Chair of House of Representatives Commission X, which oversees education, Golkar party politician Hetifah Sjaifudian, told The Jakarta Post that the Sisdiknas bill is being drafted using a codification method, consolidating other education laws, including the 2005 Teachers and Lecturers Law, the 2012 Higher Education Law and the 2019 Islamic Boarding School Law, to ensure a more integrated framework.
“With the Sisdiknas bill, [we hope] the national education legal system will become more comprehensive, consistent and relevant to modern-day needs,” she said.
With the bill set to bring sweeping changes, teacher groups and education observers said it should also reform how the constitutionally mandated 20 percent of state spending on education is allocated, noting that the current Sisdiknas Law leaves the rule open to interpretation.
They pointed out that in the 2026 state budget, the education budget is set at a record-high Rp 757.8 trillion (US$45.1 billion), yet roughly 30 percent, around Rp 268 trillion, is earmarked solely for President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship free meal program.
Read also: Free meals overshadow core education spending in 2026 budget
