ICW found 425 corruption cases in the education sector during the 2006-2015 period, including manipulation of the Specific-Purpose Grant, School Operational Aid, funds for school book procurement and the development of school facilities and infrastructure.

"In the past 10 years, the biggest source of embezzled funds was the Specific-Purpose Grant, with 85 corruption cases, which led to state losses of Rp 377 billion. The grant should be used for school operational purposes such as teacher's salaries and certification," ICW researcher Wana Alamsyah said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

"Moreover, there were 79 corruption cases in the development of school facilities and infrastructure, with state losses of Rp 542 billion."

The government has allocated Rp 424.7 trillion, 20 percent of the 2016 state budget, for education. However, weak controls have led to rampant corruption in the sector, Wana said.

Meanwhile, Hania Rahma, the head of the Bogor Women’s Anticorruption Community in West Java said there were many corruption and gratification cases in schools that had never been investigated, including manipulation of school budgets and bribery of schools by students' parents.

"For instance, in Bogor a school held a workshop in Batu city [Malang, East Java]. The event was followed by a fun tour to Mt. Bromo and it was all funded by the students' parents," Hania said.

She said school committees did not control or prevent fund manipulation as the committees often consisted of people directly selected by the school. "The parents involved in the committees often have a close relationship with the school," she added.

Wana and Hania called on the government to form an online system to register all schools and strictly control the use of funding. (vps/bbn)

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