Jakarta, NU Online
Calls for the government to spend more money on education gained momentum Wednesday, with 37 legislators setting up a caucus to fight for education funding.
They said the government and the House of Representatives were not committed to complying with the Constitution, which stipulates that 20 percent of the state budget must be set aside for education.<>
Slamet Effendy Yusuf, a member of the defense and foreign affairs commission at the House, criticized the government's plan to increase the education budget to Rp 48 trillion (US$5.4 billion, or 7 percent of the budget) from the current Rp 43 trillion. Indonesia's total budget is Rp 600 trillion (US$67 billion).
"The government will continue violating the Constitution if it does not allocate at least 20 percent of the 2008 state budget for education, amidst national concern over the low quality of the country's human resources," Slamet said Wednesday.
Masduki Baidlowi, a deputy chairman of the education commission at the House, blamed the small budget on the lack of coordination between the House and the government, saying the House would not exercise its right to force the government to comply with the Constitution.
"It is unconstitutional if the government allocates more to defense and other sectors than education," he said.
Agung Sasongko of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle said both the government and the House should be blamed for the size of the education budget.
"And the House has no political stance on the education budget and policy," he said.
Heri Achmadi, also a deputy chairman of the education commission, said people should not vote for political parties or presidential candidates that were not committed to spending 20 percent of the state budget on education.
He said that Indonesia should follow the lead of other countries that had invested heavily in the education sector.
"Indonesia now ranks 113rd out of the 131 countries listed in the world education index. And more than 80 percent of its population are high school graduates. In ASEAN, Indonesia is below Vietnam in education development," he said as quoted by The Jakarta Post.
While Indonesia has spent on average only 3 percent of its GDP on education over the years, Malaysia spends around 8 percent.
Agung said that the government could afford to spend the full 20 percent -- Rp 120 trillion -- if it recovered the money stolen from the now-defunct Bank Bali and through illegal logging.
Abdul Hakam Naza of the National Mandate Party (PAN) said the government should appeal to international financial institutions, such as the IMF and the World Bank, to write off a part of Indonesia's debt to allow the government to spend the money on the education sector. (dar)
Calls for the government to spend more money on education gained momentum Wednesday, with 37 legislators setting up a caucus to fight for education funding.
They said the government and the House of Representatives were not committed to complying with the Constitution, which stipulates that 20 percent of the state budget must be set aside for education.<>
Slamet Effendy Yusuf, a member of the defense and foreign affairs commission at the House, criticized the government's plan to increase the education budget to Rp 48 trillion (US$5.4 billion, or 7 percent of the budget) from the current Rp 43 trillion. Indonesia's total budget is Rp 600 trillion (US$67 billion).
"The government will continue violating the Constitution if it does not allocate at least 20 percent of the 2008 state budget for education, amidst national concern over the low quality of the country's human resources," Slamet said Wednesday.
Masduki Baidlowi, a deputy chairman of the education commission at the House, blamed the small budget on the lack of coordination between the House and the government, saying the House would not exercise its right to force the government to comply with the Constitution.
"It is unconstitutional if the government allocates more to defense and other sectors than education," he said.
Agung Sasongko of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle said both the government and the House should be blamed for the size of the education budget.
"And the House has no political stance on the education budget and policy," he said.
Heri Achmadi, also a deputy chairman of the education commission, said people should not vote for political parties or presidential candidates that were not committed to spending 20 percent of the state budget on education.
He said that Indonesia should follow the lead of other countries that had invested heavily in the education sector.
"Indonesia now ranks 113rd out of the 131 countries listed in the world education index. And more than 80 percent of its population are high school graduates. In ASEAN, Indonesia is below Vietnam in education development," he said as quoted by The Jakarta Post.
While Indonesia has spent on average only 3 percent of its GDP on education over the years, Malaysia spends around 8 percent.
Agung said that the government could afford to spend the full 20 percent -- Rp 120 trillion -- if it recovered the money stolen from the now-defunct Bank Bali and through illegal logging.
Abdul Hakam Naza of the National Mandate Party (PAN) said the government should appeal to international financial institutions, such as the IMF and the World Bank, to write off a part of Indonesia's debt to allow the government to spend the money on the education sector. (dar)
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