FULL DAY SCHOOL SYSTEM NEEDS FURTHER STUDY

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Aug 9 (Antara) - The pioneering idea floated by the education minister to introduce a full day school education system wherein students will undertake extracurricular activities and thus receive character education after formal classroom has elicited much public response.          The idea was floated by Education and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy to introduce the full day school system for basic education, both for private and state elementary (SD) and lower secondary (SMP) schools. Students will remain at school during the hours when their parents are still at work in the office.          The full day school system will help develop the character of children, instead of leaving them free to indulge in any unsavory activity when parents are not home to supervise, Minister Effendy said at a function in Malang, East Java, on Sunday.          However, many quarters considered it important that implications of any such idea be studied thoroughly. Chairman of the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) Arorun Ni'am cautioned that the full day school system needs to be carefully evaluated before it is implemented.

PUBLIC STILL QUESTIONS NEW SCHOOL CURRICULUM

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Jan 15 (ANTARA) - Education and Culture Minister Muhammad Nuh is conducting a program to introduce School Curriculum 2013 across the country before its implementation in the next academic year.          However, many legislators, academics and educators have stated that the plan to replace the current School Curriculum 2006 with a new one should not be implemented until a comprehensive study, involving research, analysis and evaluation, is carried out.          "The implementation of School Curriculum 2013 is important and urgent, so all sides should be well-informed of it," Nuh said while promoting the new curriculum in Semarang, Central Java, on Sunday.          The minister was introducing the curriculum to about 350 university rectors, education and cultural officials, school principals and teachers. He had earlier conducted similar activities in Jambi (Sumatra), Parung (West Java) and Tengerang (Banten).          Nuh noted that a new curriculum was necessary in light of the global challenges facing the country.

POLITICAL PARTIES MANEUVERING TO FORM COALITIONS

By Andi Abdusslam

Jakarta, March 24 (ANTARA) - Though political parties will form official coalitions only after the announcement of the results of the upcoming April 9 legislative elections, party leaders have since recently begun maneuvering by announcing tentative alliances.

        For their part, three major political parties have evolved the idea of forming an alliance called 'golden triangle' coalition. They are the Golkar Party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) and the United Development Party (PPP).

        Meanwhile, at least 11 small parties decided to pool their political strength in a grouping called the 'Bloc for Change' coalition.

        Besides, the two 'coalitions' between the major parties and the small ones, the Democrat Party (PD), whose advisory board chairman Susilo Bamgang Yudhoyono is the incumbent and 'out-going' president, has also expressed its intention to form another electoral bloc called 'the golden bridge' coalition. But so far, PD has not mentioned with whom it would form the coalition.

        Associate Chairman of the Democrat Party Anas Urbanighrum only said his party would select parties based on an assessment of their visions, ideologies and viewpoints on Indonesia's future interests, particularly in relation with President Yudhoyono's reelection.

        "We are optimistic we will be able to sit together with some parties we have already met to talk on a more concrete political cooperation," he said on the sidelines of a campaign rally by PD at the Bung Karno Sports Stadium last Friday.

        There are 38 political parties which will take part in the legislative elections on April 9, 2009 to vie for 560 House seats.

        Recently, Golkar Party Vice Chairman Agung Laksono said his party was seeking to develop a possible coalition with big parties for the presidential election in July. He likened the effort to courting. "It is like courting while a decision on who will be chosen still has to be taken later after the implementation of the legislative election," he said after speaking at an election rally for Golkar in Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan, recently.

        Golkar, he said, would intensify efforts to develop cooperation with all parties, particularly with big ones such as PDIP, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the Democrat Party and PPP.

        In a meeting with PPP chairman Suryadharma Ali in South Sumatra over the weekend, Golkar Party Chairman Jusuf Kalla discussed the idea of forming the "golden triangle" coalition among their two parties and the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDIP).

        In the meeting, Suryadharma Ali said, the power of the golden triangle coalition among Golkar, PPP and PDIP would become a magnetic field in the upcoming elections.

        "It is expected that after the golden triangle, there will be other parties that can strengthen the next government," Suryadharma said.

        Suryadharma Ali even expressed optimism that the golden triangle coalition could be expanded to include parties other than Golkar, PPP and PDIP.

        The PPP chairman said that the idea to form a golden triangle coalition began to surface in the meetings between PPP and Golkar, PDIP and Golkar and PPP and PDIP.

        The meetings among the leaders of the three political parties produced a number of commitments. "Based on the commitments we reached together, I then I proposed the establishment of the golden triangle coalition as an initial foundation for a political cooperation," Ali said.

        PDIP leader Megawati Soekarnoputri in a meeting with Kalla and Ali recently agreed to cooperate to set up a strong House of Representatives (DPR) and government.

        However, all commitments reached by the three political parties are still provisional in nature as the real coalitions will be those established after the April 9, 2009 legislative elections.

        According to Kalla, no a single political party has so far discussed forming a coalition with other parties. What they have done until now is limited to political communication.

        "I say there has yet to be a coalition among political parties so far. What we have at present is only political communication," Jusuf Kalla said over the weekend.

        If major parties still wait for the result of the legislative elections, at least 11 small parties have formed an alliance which they called the 'Bloc for Change' coalition. The coalition was formed in order to enable them to win the number of votes needed to nominate a presidential hopeful.

        Based the presidential election law, a political party or a coalition of political parties should win at least 25 percent of the votes in the legislative elections or 20 percent of the seats in the House, before it could nominate its presidential and vice presidential hopefuls.

        The Bloc for Change coalition groups 11 small parties, namely the Reforms Star Party (PBR), Prosperous Peace Party (PDS), National Democratic Party (PDK), The National Ulema Awakening Party (PKNU), National Sun Party (PMB), Indonesian Employers and Workers Party (PPPI), Pioneers' Party (PP), Care for the People National Party (PPRN), Indonesian Democracy Upholders' Party ( PPDI) and Sovereignty Party (PK).

        The Bloc for Change coalition supports Rizal Ramli, a former chief economic minister in Abdurrahman Wahid's administration, as its presidential hopeful.

        On the occasion of the coalition's declaration in the tourist resort province of Bali on Sunday, Ramli said his coalition was not the same as the golden triangle of the Golkar, PDIP and PPP or the golden bridge of the Democrat Party.

        "We, the Bloc for Change coalition, is not the same as their coalitions which only seek power," Rizal Ramli said. ***1*** (T.A014/A/HAJM/A/E002) (T.A014/A/A014/A/E002) 24-03-2009 19:56:41

INCREASED EDUCATION BUDGET RAISES CONCERN ABOUT IMPROPER SPENDING

By Andi Abdussalam

      Jakarta, Aug 19 (ANTARA) - Teachers and various quarters in the educational sector hailed the government's proposal in the Draft 2009 State Budget to raise education expenditure from Rp154.2 trillion in 2008 to Rp224 trillion next year.

        However, worries and warnings also arose that the funds which for the first time reached 20 percent of the state budget as required by the 1945 Constitution might not be used in proper ways to improve the quality of education.

        President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in his state of the nation address on Friday last week said the government was proposing to raise the education budget to meet the 20 percent requirement in the Constitution.

        "The budget for education has risen to almost double from Rp78.5 trillion in 2005 to Rp154.2 trillion in 2008. In fact, for the 2009 budget, in the midst of the global oil and food price crisis that has adversely impacted our economy, we have been able to meet the 20 percent of the State Budget requirement for education as mandated by the constitution," the president said.

        The education budget calculation formula for the 2009 state budget was the same as for the 2008 state budget but the amount was increased to 20 percent.

        The president revealed the plan to raise the education budget only two days after the Constitutional Court made a decision demanding the government to allocate budget amounting to at least 20 percent from the State Budget and Regional Budgets for the education sector.

        Teachers welcomed the government's decision to heed the Constitutional Court's decision. "We gladly welcome the increase in the education budget which reaches 20 percent of the state budget to increase the welfare of teachers," Sayuti, coordinator of United Teachers Front of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) province, said.

        The same response was also given by other teachers in various parts of the country, including those in Lebak district, Banten.

        "If the 20 percent budget is realized, education in the country will progress and its quality will be improved," Nurmanah (50), an elementary school teacher in Rangkasbitung Timur, Lebak District, Banten province, said.

        She said that Indonesia up to now had not enough and proper educational facilities due to shortages of funds. Thus, the increase in the education budget was really a welcome surprise.

        Minister of Education Bambang Sudibyo himself claimed he was surprised to learn that the president in his state of the nation address proposed a 20 percent education budget.

        "I was surprised, even almost dazed, to hear the president's address," Sudibyo said.

        In line with the increase in the education budget, calls for a tight control of its use also arose.

        Thus, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono asked that increase in the budget for education in the 2009 Draft State Budget must be used most properly in improving the quality of education.

        "I call on all concerned to spend the education budget which has been raised by 20 percent as best as efficient as possible, and avoid missing a target, " he told a meeting with national exemplary figures on Monday night.

        He told the exemplary national figures, including teachers from 33 provinces in the country, and dedicated teachers from remote and isolated areas, that the increased budget will raise the living standard of teachers, and improve the quality of graduates making them ready for work.

        The president said that in order to meet the decision of the Constitutional Court, the government in the 2009 Draft State Budget allocated a budget of 20 percent for education, bringing the budget to a total of Rp244 trillion.

        In the meantime, the Indonesian Teachers Association (PGRI) also called for a tight control of the use of the education budget so that it would be effective and efficient.

        "We hail the allocation of Rp224 trillion or 20 percent of the state budget for the education sector but we hope that the use of the budget will be tightly controlled," H Dahri of PGRI for South Kalimantan branch said.

        He said that a budget of that large amount would be useless if there were leakages in its use.

        Anang Rosadi Adnansi, deputy chairman of the People's Welfare Commission of South Kalimantan's Regional Legislative Assembly (DPRD) said that the big budget should not create 'project mentality' of officials in charge of managing the use of the funds.

        "All parties welcome the 20 percent budget but it should not create a project mentality," he said referring to widely known officials' mentality to create projects where they could get money.

        Therefore, the Education Ministry and Religious Affairs Ministry as the recipients of the budget had to prepare an implementation scheme for the proper and efficient use of the budget.

        "The Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Religious Affairs should prepare how to absorb a fund which all of a sudden increases drastically," Chairman of the United Development Party Faction of the House of Representatives (DPR) Lukman Hakim Saefuddin said.

        Minister for National Education Bambang Sudibyo said he already had a strategy for the use of the fund. He cited as an example the absorption of educational expenditure in the 2007 budget which reached 93 percent.

        He said that the education budget allocation would be channeled through the ministry of national education and the ministry of religious affairs as well as through the General Allocation Fund (DAU) and Special Allocation Fund (DAK) schemes.

        According to Sudibyo, Rp52 trillion of the education budget would be channeled through the ministry of education and Rp20 trillion through the religious affairs ministry (which manages state-owned religious schools), and the remaining ones through the DAU and DAK schemes.

        The funds will, among others, be used to rebuild damaged school buildings and increase the functional allowance of 2.7 million teachers from the present Rp1.5 million a month to Rp2 million, Minister Sudibyo said.

 (T.A014/A/HAJM/A/S012) 19-08-2008 19:39:49