Sri Mulyani: State Budget Supports All Children Achieving Their Dreams, PKH Program Budgeted IDR 28.31 Trillion, IDR 8.54 Trillion Internet Quota

Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati. (Photo: Doc. Ministry of Finance)

JAKARTA - Minister of Finance (Menkeu) Sri Mulyani Indrawati stated that the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN) supports all Indonesian children to be able to achieve their goals, including in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Happy National Children's Day 2021. Children are the future of the nation. Their health, education and welfare are the government's priorities," said Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani on her personal Instagram account @smindrawati in Jakarta, quoted from Antara, Friday, July 23.

Sri Mulyani said this year is the second year that children have to deal with the pandemic, so they still cannot play and go to school freely and even their activities must be centered at home.

However, he emphasized that this limitation does not mean that the quality of life and the future of children will be limited.

"Children must still be able to achieve their goals in the future," said Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani.

Therefore, the government through the state budget supports by providing various assistance such as the PKH Program, BOS, Smart Indonesia Program, Smart Indonesia Card and internet quota assistance during the pandemic.

For example, for the PKH Program, the government allocated a budget of IDR 28.31 trillion while internet quota assistance was IDR 8.54 trillion for 38.1 million students as well as teaching staff.

Not only that, the government also allocates a special budget for the education sector of 20 percent of the total ceiling of the APBN per year which for this year reaches around IDR 550 trillion.

"This is all expected to ease the burden on parents and support the children's learning spirit," said Sri Mulyani.

He also hopes that Indonesian children will continue to be enthusiastic about learning and increase creativity in order to achieve their goals even though the COVID-19 pandemic is still hitting.

"Come on, Indonesian children, even though they can only do activities at home, can still learn happily. Continue to be creative and excel in the fields you love!," said Sri Mulyani.