M

ore students at private schools will be eligible for assistance as the Jakarta administration has canceled a plan to scrap the Education Operational Aid (BOP) program and instead provide extra funds for them.

Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama said on Friday at City Hall that the administration would continue with the program while improving the implementation.

'€œMore students will get the aid. At least Rp 1 trillion [US$102.9 million] has been allocated for students at private schools alone,'€ he said, adding that many of them had not previously received the assistance.

Jakarta Education Agency head Taufik Yudi Mulyanto said around 1.2 million students at private schools would receive funds this year '€” a significant increase on last year'€™s figure of around 300,000 students.

Taufik said that the administration covered school operational costs for only 20 percent of students in private high and vocational schools last year.

'€œWe will increase this figure to 30 percent for 2013,'€ he said. '€œWe'€™ve also made some improvements to the program, like scrapping the minimum number of 60 applicants for assistance per school.'€

Taufik added that his agency included more students with special needs who had previously been omitted, but the amount of funds given to their schools remained the same.

Under the program, each student from elementary, junior high, senior high and vocational schools receives Rp 60,000, Rp 110,000, Rp 400,000 and between Rp 400,000 and Rp 600,000, respectively per month.

Taufik said schools and students would be able to cover their operational costs with funds given separately through the BOP and Jakarta Smart Card (KJP) programs.

Under the KJP program, the administration plans to give underprivileged students Rp 240,000 every month deposited in smart cards, similar to ATM cards, to pay for their school expenses, including transportation, books and shoes.

The agency has already processed the issuance of the smart cards for 80,354 of 312,073 eligible recipients in the first phase.

The allocation for the KJP program will comprise more than 25 percent of the city'€™s Rp 12.5 trillion total education budget. The Education Agency has allocated Rp 804 billion for this year'€™s KJP program.

Taufik said the incentives would answer complaints parents had addressed to Jakarta Governor Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo about the high cost of education in the capital.

Jokowi said he would ensure that the funds would be used appropriately under the supervision of the agency. '€œWe have to examine in detail how much money we actually need [for the BOP program] and what it is for,'€ he said, adding that parents and students would really feel the advantage of the program.

Taufik said the agency would require all schools, whether or not they chose to receive BOP assistance, to accept underprivileged students and exempt them from all kinds of fees that schools usually collect during registration, monthly or for extra-curricular activities.

He said the process for receiving funds from both programs and their recipients would be announced regularly in schools and neighborhood units, so the public could monitor them.