Jakarta (ANTARA) – The government increased scholarships and education assistance budget, from Rp28.9 trillion (around US$1.88 billion) in 2023 to Rp35.94 trillion (around US$2.33 billion) in 2024, Deputy II of the Presidential Staff Office (KSP) Abetnego Tarigan stated.”This increase is more than five times the scholarship budget 10 years ago,” he noted in a statement received here on Thursday. ccording to Tarigan, the increase aims to guarantee education for the community from elementary to higher education, so that it can expand access to education. This is in line with the principle of President Joko Widodo’s (Jokowi’s) administration, namely, no one is left behind in getting rights to education. The KSP deputy, who is in charge of human development, explained that education scholarships and assistance are realized through various efforts and forms of assistance to schools and students, such as the Education Unit Operational Assistance Program (BOSP) for schools. ssistance is provided to students through the Smart Indonesia Program (PIP), Secondary Education Affirmation (ADEM), and Higher Education Affirmation (ADik). “This includes students in underdeveloped, frontier, and outermost (3T) regions, people with disabilities, and migrant workers,” he remarked. He further noted that apart from expanding access, the government is also committed to achieving equitable quality of education by increasing the distribution and competence of teachers and educational staff. The efforts made include providing professional teachers through the contract-based government employees (PPPK) recruitment scheme, in which teachers registered in the Main Education Data (Dapodik) can join. Tarigan explained that the quota of teachers recruited through the scheme is set by regional governments in accordance with their needs. He noted that for improving the competence of teachers and educational staff, from 2007 to 2017, certification through portfolio and Teachers’ Professional Education and Training (PLPG) has been carried out. In addition, the government is focusing on improving the quality of human resources that can be absorbed by industries and the world of work through the development and strengthening of Center of Excellence Vocational High Schools (SMK-PK). s of late 2022, the number of vocational schools developed to become SMK-PK reached 1,401. “All the efforts made by the government are to realize excellent, innovative, integrated, and competitive human resources as aspired by President Jokowi,” he remarked.
Source: Antara News Agency