Sri Mulyani: Students, Students, And Teachers Can Still Get Free Internet Quota In 2021

Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani. (Photo: Instagram @smindrawati)

JAKARTA - Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati confirmed that the internet quota subsidy for students, students and teachers will still be continued until 2021. According to him, this stimulus has been budgeted for in the 2021 state budget (APBN).

Based on the 2021 State Budget strategic policy plan, the government has budgeted for education costs of IDR 550 trillion. This budget is divided into a number of posts, such as increasing the PISA score, strengthening early childhood education (paud), and increasing teacher competence.

"Including still providing support for internet fees for students, students and teachers," he said, in the 2021 Indonesia Economic Outlook Webinar, quoted from YouTube on the Indonesian Economy, Tuesday, December 22.

As is known, this year, the government has budgeted an internet quota fund for distance learning of IDR 7.2 trillion. This subsidy is channeled directly through cellphone numbers registered with Dapodik and PD-Dikti.

The internet quota subsidy program is provided to facilitate online learning for teachers, students, lecturers and students during a pandemic. Kemendikbud recorded that the cellphone numbers of subsidy recipients reached 44 million students and 3.3 million teachers.

Meanwhile, for students, the registered cellphone numbers reached 8 million students and as many as 250 thousand lecturers. The process of collecting data and verifying recipients of internet quota subsidies is carried out by the Ministry of Education and Culture or the Ministry of Education and Culture.

Previously, the Minister of Education and Culture Nadiem Makarim had permitted the opening of schools in all zones starting January 2021. However, not all schools conducted face-to-face learning even though it was permitted when referring to opening schools in the green and yellow zones.

The Ministry of Education and Culture noted that 80 percent of schools in the yellow zone and 25 percent of schools in the green zone are still learning from home. The opening of a school itself can only be done if it meets the requirements, one of which is being able to apply health protocols.

Because not all schools can learn offline, the Association for Education and Teachers (P2G) has asked the Ministry of Education and Culture (Kemendikbud) to continue providing subsidized quota for distance learning (PJJ) in 2021.

The P2G Central Coordinator, Satriwan Salim, said online distance learning activities are still ongoing even though face-to-face learning will open next year.

Satriwan said, the quota subsidy given by the government for four months really helped the distance learning process. Moreover, the majority of schools do online learning. According to him, the distribution of the free quota was also not beaten flat and was given only to those who needed it.