Participatory Education Budget (ID0095)

January 2019 - December 2020
Commitment Description
Lead implementing
agency/actor
Ministry of Education and Culture
Law Number 20/2003 Article 49.1 on National
Educational System mandates that central and
regional government require to allocate at least 20%
of State Budget (APBN) and Regional Budget (APBD)
to enhance the quality of education nationally.
However, in the implementation level, people cannot
get the benefit of the budget. For this reason, Ministry
of Education and Culture published Regional
Education Budget (REB) to provide the information
regarding the budget and education policy in each
region.
For this reason, Ministry of Education and Culture
published Regional Education Budget (REB) to
monitor budget allocation and the enhancement of
education quality. REB contains data about the budget
and education achievement to improve the education
quality services in regional areas. Furthermore, the
data format in REB will be provided using charts,
graphs, and time series so that it will be easier to
monitor the progress.
Unfortunately, REB is not widely known by people and
resulted in less consideration for future planning and
budgeting. Therefore broadening REB information
can provide an opportunity for government and civil
society to give inputs on educational program plan
based on the actual evidence as well as supervise the
education budget.
What is the public problem that
the commitment will address?
Recently, the government faced non-optimal
distribution of education budget allocation. Therefore,
REB is used to identify the main problems in the
regional education program. By using REB, the
government can easily acknowledge the distribution of
education budget, accreditation, classroom condition,
national examination result, and national examination
integrity index, teacher qualification, teacher
competency test, gross enrollment rate, net enrollment
rate, and education ratio.
Considering the benefit of REB, the commitments will
address the use of REB as basic information for the
people who are involved in the decision-making
process to improve the quality of education in the
regional area. How will the commitment
contribute to solve the public
problem?
● The commitment is aligned with some of Open
Government Partnership (OGP) values which are
transparency and civic participation. Transparency
is related to the openness of public information
and people access the information. It is
manifested within the publishment of REB by the
Ministry of Education and Culture along with the
participation from society to renew the REB data.
● Civic participation is interpreted as the society will
be involved further in the decision-making process
that is shown in people’s involvement in
supervising the management of the education
budget through the REB portal.
Why is this commitment relevant
to OGP values?
The commitment is also aligned with achievement
effort of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Number 16: “promote peaceful and inclusive societies
for sustainable development, provide access to justice
for all and build effective, accountable, and inclusive
institutions at all levels.” Especially in the target 16.6:
“develop effective, accountable, and transparent
institutions at all levels.” Because sustainable
development in the future can only be supported by
national institutions that are accountable for their
budgeting and expense. Moreover, this commitment is
indirectly cross-cutting with SDGs Number 4: “Ensure
inclusive and equitable quality education and promote
lifelong learning opportunities for all”, especially on
target 4.1: “By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys
complete free, equitable and quality primary and
secondary education leading to relevant and effective
learning outcomes”.
Additional information
Milestone Activity with a verifiable
deliverable
Start Date: End Date:
1. The socialization of REB to civil
society and local government
January 2019 December 2019
2. The consultation forum for the
educational budget plan with civil
society in regions
January 2020 December 2020 Contact information
Other Actors
Involved
State actors
involved
CSOs, private
sector, multilaterals,
working groups
Transparency International Indonesia
21 Indonesia Open Government Partnership National Action Plan 2018-2020
1. Ministry of Home Affairs

4. The Utilization of Regional Education Budget for Participatory Education Budget Plan

Language of the commitment as it appears in the action plan:

Recently, the government faced non-optimal distribution of education budget allocation. Therefore, the Regional Education Budget (REB) is used to identify the main problems in the regional education program. By using REB, the government can easily acknowledge the distribution of education budget, accreditation, classroom condition, national examination result, and national examination integrity index, teacher qualification, teacher competency test, gross enrolment rate, net enrolment rate, and education ratio.

Considering the benefit of REB, the commitments will address the use of REB as basic information for the people who are involved in the decision-making process to improve the quality of education in the regional area.

Milestones:

1. The socialization of REB to civil society and local government.
2. The consultation forum for the educational budget plan with civil society in regions.

Start Date: January 2019                                                               End Date: December 2020

Context and Objectives

Article 49 of Law No. 20/2003 on the National Education System explicitly mandates that the government allocate a minimum of 20% of its budget for the education sector. ^[57] To ensure that this percentage goes to meaningful development of the education system, the law specifies that the 20% allocation is in addition to the budget for wages. This regulation applies not only for the central government, but also local governments.

Currently, government practice is not consistent with the law. While the central government has consistently allocated 20% of its budget (APBN) for education, a portion of this amount is distributed to local governments, ^[58] who have interpreted the law differently. As mandated, local governments are also required to allocate a minimum of 20% of its budget (APBD) for education on top of the contribution from the central government. However, many local governments allocate much less than the 20% minimum quota for education in their APBD by including the central government’s funding in the calculation. ^[59] According to the OGI National Secretariat, this commitment was developed in response to these inconsistencies.

In 2017, for example, Minister of Education and Culture Muhadjir Effendy publicly criticized local governments for allocating less than 20% of their budgets for education. ^[60] According to Effendy at the time, only the Jakarta Special Capital Region complied with the Law—allocating 22% of its budget for education. The remaining 33 provinces, according to his statement, allocated as little as only 1.4% of their budgets for education. However, it is difficult to hold local governments accountable on the allocation of a 20% minimum of APBD budget for education as well as on how they available funding is used appropriately. This is particularly due to gaps in the interpretation of the law by government leadership at the national and subnational levels.

The problem that this commitment addresses consists of two different components. The first component is the government’s lack of transparency in education funding allocation both at the national and regional levels. The second component is the lack of accountability in how the government is using the allocated funds to improve education. At the same time, it is difficult for citizens to scrutinize the government given the limited access to education budget information as well as a lack of opportunity to participate in the process of determining the allocation and use of the funding.

To overcome these problems, the Ministry of Education and Culture developed the Regional Education Index (NPD). ^[61] The index, available at npd.kemdikbud.go.id, discloses a variety of information pertaining to education development across all regions in Indonesia. In addition to providing education budget data, ^[62] the index also provides an overview of key components of the education system in each province, city, and regency. These components include the accreditation status, ^[63] facilities, ^[64] testing scores, ^[65] qualifications ^[66] and competencies ^[67] of teachers, as well as teacher-to-student ratios ^[68] across all schools within a region.

The index is intended to enhance coordination between the Ministry of Education and Culture at the national level and its local counterparts at the city/regency/provincial levels which include Local Department of Education, Local Development Planning Agency, Local House of Representatives, and civil society groups. Despite the availability of this information, however, local governments do not use the index in allocating education budgets and developing education programs. As a result, a big portion of education budgets at the local level tends to be spent on building and renovating infrastructures ^[69] without clear urgency and proper justification. In other words, despite its availability, local governments do not use the data on the index in devising their education budget and programs. ^[70]

This commitment, therefore, aims to raise awareness of the index among local governments, local civil society, and citizens. To do so, the Ministry of Education and Culture will conduct a series of workshops involving government and civil society stakeholders on how to use the Regional Education Index for education budgeting and programming. Through these workshops, citizens will be able to scrutinize how local governments utilize education budgets to ensure that education spending responds to the most urgent local needs. If implemented properly, this commitment could moderately change education budgeting and programming at local levels.

However, the government has also admitted that low budget allocation may also be related to low own-source revenue (PAD) generated by local governments. ^[71] If the budget provided by the central government for education in a region does not meet the needs, local governments are responsible for filling the gap through their local budget. However, given different PADs generated by each local government, their ability is often limited. Additionally, lack of political commitment to fund education from local budgets may be a factor, as expressed by the Minister of Finance in a meeting with the Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education. ^[72] As such, the underlying problems may actually be far more complex than simply inadequate funding from the central government and a lack of transparency in education spending by local governments.

Next Steps

This commitment has the potential to increase awareness of the Regional Education Index, encourage greater public participation in the development and monitoring of education budgets, and enhance the accountability of local governments in complying with the National Education System Law. By raising awareness of the index and organizing regular consultations with civil society, local governments will be more open to public scrutiny in managing education funding.

To ensure implementation of this commitment, the Ministry of Education and Culture should first identify the challenges preventing local governments from allocating a minimum of 20% of their budget for education and develop an effective implementation strategy. Additionally, to encourage greater public participation in monitoring education budgeting and programming at the local level, the Ministry of Education and Culture needs to collaborate with the Ministry of Home Affairs in establishing a clear mechanism that mandates citizens be included in the process.

[57] Government of Indonesia, “Undang-Undang No. 20/2003 tentang Sistem Pendidikan Nasional” (2003), https://kelembagaan.ristekdikti.go.id/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/UU_no_20_th_2003.pdf.

[58] Ministry of Finance, “Anggaran Pendidikan APBN 2019” (accessed Mar. 2019), http://visual.kemenkeu.go.id/anggaran-pendidikan-apbn-2019.

[59] Tities Eka Agustine (Open Government Indonesia National Secretariat), interview by IRM researcher, 18 Mar. 2019.

[60] Mohammad Nadlir, "Mendikbud Prihatin Banyak Daerah Alokasikan Anggaran Pendidikan di Bawah 20 Persen" (Kompas, 23 Aug. 2017), https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2017/08/23/17263051/mendikbud-prihatin-banyak-daerah-alokasikan-anggaran-pendidikan-di-bawah-20.

[61] To maintain consistency with official publications, this report will continue referring to the index as Regional Education Index (NPD) as opposed to Regional Education Budget (REB) as used in the original text of the action plan.

[62] Ministry of Education and Culture, “Anggaran” (accessed Mar. 2019), https://npd.kemdikbud.go.id/?appid=anggaran.

[63] Ministry of Education and Culture, “Akreditasi” (accessed Mar. 2019), https://npd.kemdikbud.go.id/?appid=akreditasi.

[64] Ministry of Education and Culture, “Kondisi Ruang Kelas” (accessed Mar. 2019), https://npd.kemdikbud.go.id/?appid=ruangkelas.

[65] Ministry of Education and Culture, “Hasil UN & IIUN” (accessed Mar. 2019), https://npd.kemdikbud.go.id/?appid=hasilun.

[66] Ministry of Education and Culture, “Data Kualifikasi Guru” (accessed Mar. 2019), https://npd.kemdikbud.go.id/?appid=kualifikasi.

[67] Ministry of Education and Culture, “Data UKG” (accessed Mar. 2019), https://npd.kemdikbud.go.id/?appid=ukg.

[68] Ministry of Education and Culture, “Rasio Pendidikan” (accessed Mar. 2019), https://npd.kemdikbud.go.id/?appid=rasio.

[69] Mohammad Bernie, “Penggunaan Anggaran Pendidikan Dinilai Belum Efisien” (Tirto, 26 Jan. 2019), https://tirto.id/penggunaan-anggaran-pendidikan-dinilai-belum-efisien-dfcl.

[70] Agustine, interview.

[71] Emanuel B. Caesario, “Alokasi Anggaran Pendidikan di Daerah Masih Banyak yang Belum Capai 20%,” (Bisnis, 2016), https://kabar24.bisnis.com/read/20161218/255/612997/alokasi-anggaran-pendidikan-di-daerah-masih-banyak-yang-belum-capai-20.

[72] Mesha Mediani, “Sri Mulyani Kritik Penggunaan Dana Pendidikan Belum Maksimal” (CNN Indonesia, 5 Jul. 2018), https://www.cnnindonesia.com/ekonomi/20180507153544-532-296298/sri-mulyani-kritik-penggunaan-dana-pendidikan-belum-maksimal.

4. The Utilization of Regional Education Budget for Participatory Education Budget Plan

Limited:

Facing difficulties holding local governments accountable for allocating the legally required 20% minimum of APBD budget to education, the Ministry of Education and Culture developed the online Regional Education Index (NPD). [46] This index publishes education budget data and an overview of key components of the education system in each province, city, and regency. Under this commitment, to improve uptake of NPD, public engagement with communities and local governments on the index [47] occurred in 17 of Indonesia’s 34 provinces. Consultations for the educational budget plan were only held for communities in 7 of Indonesia’s 34 provinces, limited by COVID-19 constraints. The Open Government Indonesia secretariat could not confirm whether this commitment contributed to implementation of the Ministry of Education and Culture’s policy recommendations to allocate 20% of regional budgets to education, and to improve classroom conditions, graduation rates, school accreditation, the national exam, teacher competency tests, and teaching staff. [48]