Republika (05/10/04): Education in Indonesia still receives less than maximum attention from the government. Amidst tighter global competition, Indonesia's education isn't getting better but getting worse. The small subsidy budgeted by the government for education, a mere 9% or Rp4 trillion, is one of Indonesian education's many problems.

According to Rector Deputy I of Unisba, Dr ING I Suparno Satira, and educational problems also emerge from the   communities themselves. “Low interest in reading among the young generation and  the wrong views on  by some people on education are also serious problems,” he said in a National Seminar entitled Society under Constellation of Indonesia’s Politic, Economy and Education held by Unisba in Bale Pakuan on Monday (4/10).

Inspector General of the Ministry of National Education, Dr. Ir. Soeparna MS, admitted to the government’s insufficient support to education. “The government has tried to do its best but the limited budget for education has been the major constrain. Yet, in the future, we do hope education subsidy will approach the desired figure,” he said.

Neither can Indonesia’s higher education escape from education problems. Suparno Satira is concerned so much about the declining quality of Indonesia’s education. “How is it possible that ITB which has long been widely known is now on the position of 15th in Asia, while UGM is 40th,” he added.

Meanwhile, education observer, Dr. Irfan Safrudin added that only 0.035% of all Indonesia’s workforce graduated from higher education. Such low number of graduates in the job sector  can be a hint about  how bad is Indonesia’s education output.

At basic level of education, the current large number of school dropouts has been a critical problem. In Bandung alone, some 12,300 (24.92 percent) school-age children (7-15 years old) cannot continue their studies.

“The ever-increasing cost of education has been, on average, the main cause of dropouts,” said treasurer of Gapura (Charity Moment for People) Foundation, Ir. Abdullah S, in Bandung.
He added that support from people is required to boost education. Establishment of free-of-charge schools for poor people, he added, can be one of many efforts to address education problem at basic level.