Govt will not cut educational budget despite crisis: minister

02/02/09 05:26

Tokyo  (ANTARA News) - Education Minister Bambang Sudibyo confirmed the government would not cut 20 percent of the educational budget from the 2009 state budget totaling 1,037 trillion rupiah despite crisis.

"Twenty 20 percent of the educational budget will amount to 207 trillion rupiah, and it may be raised to 21 percent," the minister said at the Indonesian Embassy here on Sunday when asked by vice president Jusuf Kalla to explain Indonesian people living in Japan on developments of national education.

The education minister was on the occasion accompanying vice president Jusuf Kalla on a visit to Tokyo.

Kalla, who is also general chairman of the Golkar Pary, was on a stopover here to receive an honorary doctorate in the field of peace from the University of Soka and would later proceed to the United States, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Bambang said further that some 105 trillion rupiah out of 207 trillion rupiah of the 20 educational budget allocations, will be handed to regional administrations, in which half of the amount will be allocated as teachers` salaries.

Meanwhile, the education ministry will receive some 62 trillion rupiah, the minister said.

"And 16 trillion of 62 trillion rupiah will be remitted to schools` accounts through the School Operational Assistance (BOS). We rely on the schools to manage the budget," Bambang said.

On the occasion, Bambang also explained the salary of teachers as civil servants whose fate is getting better.

According to him, a teacher of 2B grade, without teaching experience and still unmarried, would receive at least two million rupiah.

In the meantime, a teacher with an S-1 (1st level university graduate) would receive at least 5 million rupiah per month, Bambang added.  (*)

Link: http://www.antara.co.id/en/arc/2009/2/2/govt-will-not-cut-educational-budget-despite-crisis-minister/