Jakarta Needs IDR 1.7 Trillion To Form Free Schools, Where Does The Budget Come From?

School illustration (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The DKI Jakarta DPRD and the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government have signed an integrity pact to ratify the Draft Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget (RAPBD) for the 2025 fiscal year.

One of the priority program drafts contained in the RAPBD is free schools. The free school for students who receive education in private schools has been discussed since the previous DPRD period.

Deputy Chairperson of the DKI Jakarta DPRD, Ima Mahdiah, said that the budget ceiling allocated for free schools reached Rp1.7 trillion. The amount of the free school budget is designed as an effort to prevent students from dropping out of school.

"If I'm not mistaken, IDR 1.7 trillion is because of the large number of underprivileged children who have to go to school in the private sector, in the end they are in arrears. Finally, they dropped out of school, we look for solutions. For domestic children, they are free. So we prioritize children who are in private schools but can't afford it," Ima told reporters, Wednesday, October 9.

Previously, there was a discourse that the free school budget would be taken from the Jakarta Smart Card (KJP) distribution budget. Thus, the educational assistance program has the potential to be removed because it is diverted to free schools.

However, Ima admitted that the plan could not be ascertained. The DPRD and the DKI Provincial Government are still fiddling with the regional budget that can be allocated for the two programs.

"If the KJP is still being evaluated. What is certain is that if there is an additional fund allocation, it will be used for children who really can't afford it. So, for registration, verification, the KJP is prioritized for children who can't afford it," explained Ima.

All factions in the DKI Jakarta DPRD are said to have approved that free schools be implemented by 2025. There is a special reason for the DPRD initially proposing the implementation of free schools.

So far, DPRDs often receive complaints from underprivileged families, ranging from cases of dropping out of school to their diplomas being detained by private schools because they have not paid their tuition fees.

Now, the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government is still reviewing the plan to implement free schools, especially private ones in Jakarta. The DKI Jakarta Education Office targets the study to be completed by the end of 2024.

For the record, not all private schools will be included in the free school program. The DKI Jakarta Education Office mapped more than 400 private schools grade A and B still use the education financing system they have implemented. Given, these schools have not received the distribution of education operational assistance funds (BOS).