Jakarta, Kompas (28/12/07): The Bill on Education Institutions (RUUBHP) stipulates that any individual and institution that provide assistance for education will get tax incentive. This regulation is expected to serve as a legal basis to strengthen cooperation between education institutions and the private sector. 

A member of the Tenth Commission of the House of Representatives (DPR) who is also a member of the BHP Bill Working Committee, Nina Ruth Kedang, said Thursday (12/27) that the regulation was also expected to prevent education from being commercialized.

The paragraph (3) of the article 37 of the BHP Bill stipulates that the central government and the regional administration will provide facility or tax incentive to any party that gives education fund to education institutions (BHP). Other paragraphs in the article also stipulate that the community can give non-binding education fund to BHP. The fund could be in the form of investment fund, operational fund, scholarships, or education assistance for students. The fund could be in the form of grant (hibah), bequest (wakaf), zakat (alms), loan, company donation, as well as other form of donations recognized by the law.

Tax incentives, Nina added, is expected to boost cooperation between universities and third parties, and consequently tuition fee is not the only source of the education funding. “Universities and industries are expected to establish cooperation. Such cooperation will lower the financial burden that parents have to pay for education,” she asserted. (INE)