GOVERNMENT URGED TO PAY ATTENTION TO LOW COST PRIVATE SCHOOLS
Jakarta: Center for Indonesian Policy Studies urges the Ministry of Education and Culture (Kemendikbud) to include low-cost private schools’ role into consideration in the middle of corona virus pandemic (covid-19). Low-cost private schools are believed to be the main support for children coming from low economic class to stay in school.
CIPS researcher Nadia Fairuza explained this low-cost private school is a school that costs less than 10 percent of parents’ income or based on a ratio of Regional Minimum Wage (UMR). Based on CIPS findings, there are 86 low cost private schools in Koja, North Jakarta.
“Low-cost private schools must be the concern of the government in education discourse,” Nadia said in a webinar ‘Financial Challenges for Low-Cost Private Schools During the Pandemic’, Wednesday, June 10, 2020. CIPS also recommends the Ministry of Education and Culture to provide financial assistance. In addition, to provide flexibility in the use of grants for School Operations (BOS) so that school principals can really manage their school well.
Nadi said, Circular Letter of the Minister of Education Number 4 of 2020 concerning Implementation Education Policy during the Emergency Period of Covid-19 Pandemic has not been accommodating the needs of low-cost private schools.
“The government needs to jump in to strengthen low-cost private schools, such as giving financial assistance,” she explained. She said, the Ministry of Education and Culture could imitate the local government who has the initiative to provide school financing subsidies. Bali for example, she mentioned, allocates subsidies between Rp450 thousand to Rp750 thousand per student to help school tuition, for three months.
“Some areas in Kepulauan Riau, Bali and also East Java provide school fee relief,” she explained. The school principals are also asked to have initiatives; not only waiting for the government, but they can also collaborate with other institutions or organizations.
“Private schools can collaborate with other organizations or institutions to improve added value, increase income, gain an entrepreneurial spirit,” she said.
The news about “Government Urged to Pay Attention to Low-Cost Private Schools” was published by Medcom.id on June 10, 2020
Author: Muhammad Syahrul Ramadhan