Indra Harsaputra, Surabaya – The disbursement of school assistance (BOS) funds has failed to prevent 125,850 children from having to drop out of school in Surabaya, East Java, a municipal councilor says.
City councilor Ahmad Jabir, from the Justice Prosperity Party, said he obtained the data on the number of school dropouts from the Surabaya mayor's 2007 financial and accountability report.
According to the report, there were 447,452 children attending school in Surabaya in 2007, while the number of school-aged children in the city stood at 573,302.
"This is a sad situation given Surabaya's annual budget of Rp 3 trillion (US$333 million), and still around 22 percent of school-aged children remain deprived of an education," Jabir told The Jakarta Post.
He said that in addition to the problem of dropouts, many schools in the city enrolled more students than they were equipped to accommodate, lowering the standard of education.
Jabir said he expected the number of dropouts to rise as a result of the recent increase in fuel prices. He said the fuel price rise could double the number of poor people in Surabaya, which last year, according to official statistics, stood at 460,000 families. Out of a population of 2,861,928 in 2007, there were 228,120 unemployed people.
"The direct cash assistance (to offset the increase in fuel prices) and the BOS cannot be used as a benchmark for the alleviation of poverty and the school dropout rate in Indonesia, particularly owing to the ineffective distribution of the funds," Jabir said.
In a speech during the recent commemoration of National Education Day at Airlangga University in Surabaya, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono promised to increase the national budget for education as part of efforts to ensure all children can attend school
Two candidates in East Java's upcoming gubernatorial election, Soekarwo and Soenarjo, have promised during campaigning to provide free education for less privileged students. Both candidates said they would set aside funds from the provincial budget for education.
"The budgetary allocation now apparently is not yet in favor of education now," Soekarwo said.
National Education Minister Bambang Sudibyo said the compulsory nine-year education program would remain a priority this year.
He said the ministry would continue to provided assistance funds and free textbooks to elementary and junior high schools, grant scholarships to needy but talented students, renovate schools and initiate other programs.
Bambang said the government had disbursed funds for a number of programs, including quality management operations, scholarships and free textbooks.
He added that in 2007 the government disbursed Rp 11 trillion in school operational funds, 70 percent of which went toward paying school fees for elementary and junior high school students from low-income families.
"The BOS exempts needy students from paying school fees. A large portion of the BOS is apparently set aside for Java, with East Java getting the bulk compared to other provinces," Bambang said in Surabaya.
He said his ministry was currently streamlining the national curriculum, including the textbook system, with the goal of cutting textbook prices by at least a third and ensuring they can be used by students for at least five years.
Many parents have complained about textbook prices and their use for only one year. "Schools will also be obligated to provide free textbooks for needy students. The government will also enact a new law for to ensure greater access to education," Bambang said.