Commission X Of The House Of Representatives Highlights IDR 111 Trillion Not Absorbed When Education Services In RI Are Still Minimal

Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash

JAKARTA - Commission X of the Indonesian House of Representatives highlighted the findings of the DPR's Budget Agency (Banggar) regarding the lack of absorption of the education budget in the 2023 State Budget of IDR 111 trillion. The amount of unabsorbed budget makes it sad because it occurs at a time when there is still a lack of education service infrastructure in the country.

Deputy Chairman of Commission X DPR RI Dede Yusuf Macan Effendi said his party would ask the Ministry of Education and Culture to conduct an audit with a number of parties who obtained 20 percent of the education budget from the APBN.

"We have requested that the Ministry of Education and Culture coordinate a joint audit related to the education budget because most of the education budget is not managed directly by the Ministry of Education and Culture," said Dede Yusuf, Wednesday, September 4.

According to Dede, this joint audit is very important because the largest portion of the education budget is not managed directly by the Ministry of Education and Culture, but is mostly managed by Ministries/Institutions (K/L) and non-K/L which are not under the auspices of the Ministry of Education and Culture.

Therefore, Dede emphasized that the Ministry of Education and Culture needs to collaborate with a number of parties, including the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Home Affairs.

"We encourage inter-ministerial ministries to strengthen coordination such as with the Ministry of Finance, Bappenas, and other ministries of institutions that manage the education function budget," he said.

"This joint audit plays a crucial role in determining the policy of placing the education budget allocation in the coming government period," continued Dede.

As is known, the education budget obtained a total of 20 percent of the APBN in accordance with the constitutional mandate of the 1945 Constitution. However, Banggar DPR found that out of the total 2023 APBN, the budget was only realized by 16%. The remaining 4% or around Rp 111 trillion was not realized or not absorbed.

In more detail, the 2023 education budget from the realized 2023 State Budget is reported to be only IDR 513.38 trillion of the total budget of IDR 621.28 trillion. Where, most of the education budget is allocated not for the Ministry of Education and Culture but to the regions through the Transfer to Regions (TKD) scheme of IDR 346.56 trillion or 52.1 percent.

Other educational budget placements are included through Financing, including the Endowment Fund for Education (including the Abadi Islamic Boarding School Fund), which is IDR 15 trillion, under the authority of the Ministry of Religion. Furthermore, as much as IDR 47.31 trillion was distributed to several ministries or institutions that have educational programs.

This finding is in the spotlight of Commission X of the DPR considering that the unabsorbed budget is very large in the midst of many school facilities and infrastructure that are not yet feasible, especially in the 3TP area (extended, outermost, frontier and border).

"Reflecting on the reports we received, the magnitude of the education budget is inversely proportional to the lack of educational service conditions," explained Dede.

"This creates an educational access gap. Not to mention we know that there are still many teachers and educators who have not received proper welfare," added the legislator from the West Java II electoral district.

Dede assessed that the findings of 4% of the unabsorbed education budget were quite unfortunate. In fact, there should be many things that can be done with the budget if it is managed properly, for example improving the infrastructure of schools that are still in a pathetic condition to improve the welfare of teachers.

"If budget management is managed effectively, the potential for non-absorption of the budget will decrease," he said.

"So that the state budget is really absorbed for the needs and interests of the people, in this case, to improve the condition of our education services which are still far from perfect," added Dede.

On the basis of this series of problems, which resulted in Commission X of the DPR making the Education Financing Committee. Through this Panja, the House of Representatives Commission in charge of educational affairs seeks to encourage the reformulation of Indonesia's education budget policy.

"This reformulation effort will encourage the impact of the education budget to create a decent, affordable, and just education in Indonesia," explained Dede.

The former Deputy Governor of West Java said that the already running Education Financing Committee would try to make recommendations for the government. The hope, said Dede, is that the education budget management policy can be more effective and efficient.

"Therefore, the Ministry of Education and Culture cannot stand alone working," he said.

Moreover, reminded by Dede, most of the education budget is managed by K/L or other institutions that are not under the auspices of the Ministry of Education and Culture.

"People have the right to enjoy good educational facilities and quality from the government. To achieve this, the education budget management policy must be carried out optimally," concluded Dede.