Reduce School Dropouts, Banyuwangi And KGSB Dispendik Strengthen SAS And Guard Programs

Schoolchildren (Pixabay)

JAKARTA The dropout rate in Indonesia is still quite high. The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) noted that nationally the number of dropouts in Indonesia continued to increase from 2019 to 2022 from all levels, namely elementary, junior high, and high school.

Still according to BPS through the 2021 National Economic Survey (Susenas), 76% of families admit their children have dropped out of school for economic reasons. Most of them are 67.0% of them are unable to pay tuition fees, while the remaining 8.7% are caused by children having to earn a living.

Various efforts have been made by the central and regional governments to reduce school dropouts. One example is the efforts made by the Banyuwangi Regency Education Office (Dispendik). Through the Sebaya Foster Student (SAS) program and the Regional Movement for Lifting Youth Out Schools (Garda Ampuh) Dispendik Kab. Banyuwangi has succeeded in preventing and dealing with children dropping out of school.

Regarding this problem, the Satkaara Sharing Teacher Community (KGSB) held a KGSB Mutual Sharing discussion activity through the Youtube Live platform with the theme Prevent School Dropouts through the Ampuh Guard and SAS' Program on Thursday night, October 12, 2023.

The founder of KGSB, Ruth Andriani, emphasized that the core of the SAS program is the spirit of sharing that is in line with the KGSB philosophy. "In addition to being concerned with data on school dropouts that are still concerning, through this discussion, we hope that the sharing value that is the basis of the SAS program can be imitated and inspire KGSB member teachers," he said in a media statement received by VOI, Friday, October 13.

The KGSB Discussion Sharing the 11th episode this time presented two speakers, namely Expert Staff of the Banyuwangi Regency Education Council and School Supervisors of the Banyuwangi Regency Education Office, Lina Kamalin, S.Pd., M.Pd, as well as, Founder of the BK Teacher's House and Widyaiswara Kemdikbud, Research and Technology RI, Ana Susanti, M.Pd. CEP, CHt.

The SAS program was initiated since 2011 on the basis of the legal basis of the Decree of the Head of the Banyuwangi Regency Dispendik No. 421/1939.a/KEP/429.101/2011 concerning the Asuh Sebaya Student program (SAS) SD, SMP, and SMA equivalent. Then confirmed by the Banyuwangi Regent Decree No. 188/182/KEP/429.101/2014 concerning the Sebaya Foster Student program.

The SAS program aims to help underprivileged children in Banyuwangi Regency to realize a 12-year compulsory program in the region. This program involves students themselves by voluntarily raising funds to help the education costs of their friends who are considered underprivileged. The funds are then managed by their respective schools while being held accountable to the Education Office.

Expert Staff of the Banyuwangi Regency Education Council and School Supervisors of the Banyuwangi Regency Education Office, Lina Kamalin, S.Pd., M.Pd admitted that not all educational problems were able to be handled by the local government, therefore his party needed collaboration from various parties. This SAS program is an innovation that is a solution to overcome the limited government's hand in financing public education," he said.

Lina revealed that the SAS program has produced various proud achievements. Since starting in 2011, this initiative has succeeded in raising funds of IDR 26.68 billion with more than 300 thousand underprivileged beneficiaries in Banyuwangi Regency.

After the pandemic in 2021, this program was developed with the School Foster School program. In that one year, there were 175 schools acting as foster schools for 525 schools.

Because of this achievement, the SAS Program received several awards. Among them are MDS (Millennium Development Goals) Awards 2014, the 2020 Ministry of Education and Culture's Character Cedas Award, TOP 12 Best Category Public Service Innovation Competition, 2016 East Java Province and 99 Best Innovations Public Service Innovation Competition (Sinovik) of the Ministry of PAN-RB 2017. The SAS program has also been replicated by several districts/cities and provinces in Indonesia.

In particular, the Founder of the Home of Teachers of BK and Widyaiswara of the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture, Ana Susanti, M.Pd. CEP, CHt, gave high appreciation for the SAS initiative.

I am amazed by this program because it has been successful in inspiring and involving many participants, and even more extraordinary that involved there are children. Imagine, with the small coin they have, they learn to share independently to reach more than 26 billion. If they were withdrawn since the program started in 2011, now they are matures, and believe me, the sharing experience has become a big capital for the formation of the character of their concern now and left it to the generation of descendants, "he explained.

GARDA AMPUH Menburu Anak Putus Sekolah

The AMPUH GARDA Program is an effort by the Banyuwangi Regency Government to eradicate school-age children who do not attend school. The legal basis for the Ampuh Guard Program is the Banyuwangi Regent Regulation Number 4 of 2014 concerning the Community Movement Program for the Eradication of Tributes and Appointment of School Breakup Students (GEMPITA-PERPUS) Banyuwangi Regency.

In this AMPUH GARDA program, there is a special team that is driven by the Education Office by involving a number of elements of society. The team is tasked with capturing and hunting for children dropping out of school, then inviting them back to school. The completion of children dropping out of school is carried out with three schemes. The first scheme is that children who are found drop out according to their age. For example, when the third grade of elementary school are immediately returned to normal school. The second scheme, if they are found to break up in grade VI SD, does not need to be returned to school, but is included in the final exam by being given the module of learning as material to work on the exam in order to be able to move up to the next level. While the third scheme, if found to be past the age, can be included in the package program through the Community Learning Activity Center (PKBM).

Like the SAS program, GARDA AMPUH also received appreciation from various parties. One of them is the award for the Innovation Government Award for Banyuwangi as an Innovative Regency in Indonesia since 2018.

Lina Kamalin added, in August 2023, the number of Schoolless Children (ATS) in Banyuwangi Regency reached 11,289 children. After that, a treatment sharing was carried out involving all groups through various programs. As a result, as of September 2023, the number of ATS in Banyuwangi Regency decreased significantly to 5,664 children at various levels of school education.