DPR Leaders Support Free State-Private School Plans In Jakarta

ILLUSTRATION BETWEEN

JAKARTA - Deputy Speaker of the DPR Coordinator for People's Welfare (Korkesra) Cucun Ahmad Syamsurijal supports the free school policy for the State and Private in Jakarta in 2025. Cucun considered the policy very good.

However, Cucun reminded, the role of parents must remain optimal in supporting and monitoring their children's learning patterns even though they are free of charge.

"If there is a political will from the local government to make school free, it is very good. It just has to be seen from the motivation side of the family or parents, don't let this be free, instead, parents' concern to support their children and then monitor their children to become intelligent people will decrease," said Cucun, Friday, November 15.

The Deputy Chairperson of the DPP National Awakening Party (PKB) said that the free school program is a form of state presence and in accordance with the mandate of the 1945 Constitution. He also has high hopes that the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government's policy can be used as a reference for other regions.

"The presence of my country strongly agrees that indeed the DKI Regional Government is a reference for all regional governments who have a responsibility for how the mandatory spending of the 20 percent education budget can be felt by all Indonesian people," said Cucun.

On the other hand, the legislator from Bandung, West Java also reminded educational funds, aka scholarships, which are often mistargeted. Through the free school policy, he is optimistic that these obstacles can be minimized.

"Don't let people like now enjoy education budgets or educational scholarships, actually people who can afford it. Now that all schools are free from elementary to upper-middle levels, we need to appreciate the DKI level so that they can become pilot projects for the governments in other provinces," concluded Cucun.

Previously, the DKI Jakarta DPRD and the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government had agreed on the amount of the draft General Budget Policy and Temporary Budget Priority Ceiling (KUA-PPAS) for the 2025 budget year amounting to Rp 91.1 trillion. The free school program from elementary to high school levels will be realized in July 2025.

In order to support the free school program to be realized, the DKI Jakarta Education Office (Disdik) is still reviewing the implementation of the program.

However, this fee exemption is not enforced for all schools. Policy applies to private schools that have been mapped out of quality and costs.

Private schools that will be targeted by the government to carry out this policy are those with cluster status 1 to 3. Meanwhile, private schools clusters 4 and 5 will not be targeted because the quality is already elite.