Free Education

Free Education

(Between Expectation and Challenge)

Many people assume that the people of Indonesia should be proud of the effort of their government to increase the quality of Indonesia educational system. It began with school equipments, teachers qualified, and the most concern by many criticism activists of education was the fund allocation for education in account of 20% taken from Cost Product and National Budget (APBN) and Cost Product and Regional Budget (APBD).

The expectation of Indonesian people finally answered after the government assigned the rule of regulation (UU) for the educational system of Indonesia (sisdiknas) No. 20 in the 2003 about free education. The content of this free education, of course, has a limited meaning. Student could be free for the education cost is on the primary school (SD/MI) and junior high school (SMP/MTS) level only, as the government states that the nine year primary school obligation; those are SD/MI and SMP/MTS. It means that the senior high school (SMA) cannot be free for it.  In some regions on the district level, even though, we heard that they started to apply the content of this sisdiknas till to the senior high school level, namely in Gianyar the province of Bali, and Pangkep and Gowa the province of South Sulawesi.   

The above first district, even, has being conducted free education before the assigning of the UU. The reason was that this district is included as a rich region based on its Gross Regional Product (PAD). But, it is different from the two other districts which are still on trying level only. Pangkep, for example, had tried in the 2004/2005, but this region could not continue to the next year due to many other aspects. Whereas Gowa is able to start it in January 2009, then, as the pilot project in Indonesia on the high school level. But how about in the university, is there any good chance for the government gives free education on this level? Till today we never had heard about it.

            As the matter of facts, there were many comments over this government concern. One of the comments was said that if the government has given free education to the primary school since 2003, it is assessed as a supposedly concern indeed. Because the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) noted that the cost of education was still relatively high within this year (Sejarahkita Atom.com). When the government raised the educational cost up to 20%, in the same time the National Society Economics Survey (Susenas) accounted that there were still 10.12% the population of Indonesia who could not read at all in a number of population reached to 172,978,229. In the following a year later, 2004/2005, Susenas noted 685,967 students Drop Out (DO), and 495,261 students who could not go to at the junior high school with 8.04% of the average rate of the increasing population in around of three years in 2000 to 2003 (Redaksi dan Kabar Indonesia.com). This source also concluded that all of them were caused by the economic problem.

The same case also happened to the equipment part of school mobility, in 2004, the National of Education Affair (Depdiknas) calculated that 57.2% of SD/MI building and 27.3% of SMP/MTS building were categorized light and heavy damage (Sejarahkita Atom.com).

In looking at these facts, the government then did many efforts on the way out of the problem. Some of them were the school operational aid (BOS), the special aid for student (BKM), the national employer for parenting (GNOTA), the special aid for education (DAK), and even there was called as the education voucher (Sejarahkita Atom.com).

From 2006 to 2007, Aprina found that the number of students who could not go to SMP/MTS reached 20% of 9.8 million students in 2006 to be 11.7% in 2007 (Save Our Children wordpres.com) based on the number of population in 2007 which was 222.328 million. And in the 2009 the Data Statistics.com accounted that the number of students who stopped going to SMP/MTS school were 50% of 100% students who was enrolled going to SD/MI.

Under the government efforts, we must support whatever he has done so far. The parents of students who have children in SD and SMP are very enjoying for the free education program, of course. We certainly must thank to our government, too because most of students who are from the weak economic parents can go to school without any cost at all. But on the other side, we are very anxiety for the facility of a lot of schools in any where places. If the government cannot conduct the free education at SMA level, it is not also the government fault. Because in the facts, there are still many schools in around of Indonesia which have the school facility are so far than enough. As the effects, all the cost which appears based on the school needs cannot be placed in the school.

One of teachers from the senior high school of Gowa who did not want to be mentioned his name stated that free education is really so far from the improving the educational case. He said, “The reason is because some schools in the remote area are still many weaknesses, particularly in facilities like are laboratory equipment, IT mobile, sport equipment, and the most important one is the hand book for students to all of the subjects.” “While we know,” he added, “The teachers are forbidden to ask students pay in any kinds of cost. It is, even, their behavior cannot be infected by teachers at all whatever they want to do, and it is included the way of them to wear clothes.” “Whether is this effect of the region autonomy?” he ended.  

Only one thing that we may think altogether that how come the education will have a large improvement when the cost of its is so low. As the analogized that if one went to the market and he got some eggs which were free. He would take them home all. It would be there still in good condition and bad one altogether. That is a really free meant for the free education.

Source:

Apriana, available on Http//: Save Our Children Wordpres.com. 01/06/2010. 05.00 pm    

Available on Http//: Data Statistics.com. 01/06/2010. 05.00 pm

Available on Http//: Sejarahkita Atom.com. 01/06/2010. 05.00 pm

Available on Http//: Redaksi dan Kabar Indonesia.com. 01/06/2010. 05.00 pm