Investigating Budgets for Higher Education

The education budget allocation has increased, but the portion for higher education is unclear.

The increase in single tuition fees or UKT this year is burdensome for new students. The government's responsibility is being questioned amidst the education budget which continues to increase from year to year.

The government continues to strive to uphold the constitutional mandate of educating the nation, by fulfilling the minimum 20 percent education budget allocation from the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN). This is fundamental because education is the key determinant of the quality of human resources of a nation.

Since 2009, the education budget allocation has always reached 20 percent of the APBN. This year the allocation has reached IDR 665 trillion. This allocation increased by 20.5 percent compared to the 2023 outlook. When compared with the budget in the year before the pandemic (2019), the allocation increased by 44.5 percent.

Then, how much budget do higher education institutions receive to produce superior and competitive quality human resources? Before answering that, let's first look at the flow of the education budget allocated by the government.

Referring to the Fiscal Note of the State Budget for the 2024 Fiscal Year, the government mentioned that education budget is allocated through Education Implementation Costs (BPP), transfers to regions (TKD), and government investments in financing positions.

Education budget through BPP amounted to Rp 241.4 trillion (36.3 percent), which is utilized among others to improve public access to education and provide ease by exempting education fees for underprivileged students and providing relief for other students.

The education budget through TKD is allocated IDR 346.5 trillion (52.1 percent), including for the balancing fund components (profit sharing funds, general allocation funds, special allocation funds, or special autonomy funds) for the education sector. This number increased 15.3 percent compared to the previous year's outlook. This was mainly due to an increase in the salaries of state civil servants.

Next, the education budget comes from the financing budget in the investment financing position, namely through the allocation of the Abadi Fund in the Education Sector which is planned to be worth Rp 25 trillion.

The Endowment Fund in the field of Education consists of the Endowment Fund for Education (which includes the Endowment Fund for Islamic Boarding Schools) amounting to IDR 15 trillion, the Endowment Fund for Research amounting to IDR 4 trillion, the Endowment Fund for Culture amounting to IDR 2 trillion, and the Endowment Fund for Higher Education amounting to IDR 4 trillion.

Of the three types of budget streams, it is not specifically visible how much proportion is specifically allocated to higher education institutions. The direction of the education budget policy in 2024 is indeed very general, covering many aspects.

Starting from increasing access to education at all levels of education through expanding compulsory education, educational assistance in the form of scholarships, strengthening the quality and availability of PAUD services, increasing the competence of teachers and education personnel, to strengthening vocational education, etc. The scope is very broad.

Also read: Regarding the UKT Increase, What Actually Happened?

Ministry of Education and Culture budget

Next, let's look at the budget for the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology. Still from the FY 2024 APBN Financial Note, the expenditure budget allocated for Kemendikbudristek is IDR 99 trillion. This figure has increased by 20.9 percent compared to the 2023 outlook. Compared to the budget in the year before the pandemic, the figure has increased by 171 percent.

The budget for this ministry's spending is divided into six programs, namely the Early Childhood Education and 12-Year Mandatory Learning Program, the Advancement and Preservation of Language and Culture Program, the Teaching and Learning Quality Program, the Higher Education Program, the Vocational Education and Training Program, and the Management Support Program.

Of the six programs, the Higher Education program received the highest budget allocation, reaching 39-41 percent of the total Kemendikbudristek budget.

For the year 2024, the budget for the Higher Education program is Rp 38.8 trillion or 39.2 percent of the Ministry of Education and Culture's budget. This figure is slightly higher (16.2 percent) compared to the previous year's budget of Rp 33.4 trillion.

One of the priority outputs of the higher education program is distributing KIP Lectures to 1.1 million students. The government has distributed educational assistance through the KIP Kuliah program since 2020, which was previously the Bidikmisi scholarship program, as well as Higher Education Affirmation (ADIk) assistance.

KIP Kuliah is intended for poor or vulnerable families, or priority families, to finance education and assist living expenses for high school graduates who are accepted at universities or equivalent institutions.

The number of Bidikmisi or KIP Kuliah recipients continues to increase. If in 2019 the number of recipients was 433,600 students, in 2023 it will increase to 978,400 students.

To increase participation in higher education, the government also has other programs aside from KIP Kuliah. The Ministry of Education and Culture collaborated with the Education Fund Management Agency (LPDP) to expand the scope of the education endowment fund for educational scholarships, independent campus programs, vocational programs, achievement programs, and cultural scholarships.

During the period of 2010-2023, LPDP in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Culture and Research and Technology has awarded degree scholarships to 17,521 people and non-degree scholarships to 142,231 people.

Also read: Dissecting the UKT Tariff Change Rules, Causes of Tuition Cost Confusion

4th order

Looking at the overall expenditure of ministries/agencies, the budget for the Ministry of Education and Culture/Research and Technology is not particularly large. The budget for the Ministry of Education and Culture/Research and Technology is below the budget for the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (IDR 147.4 trillion), Ministry of Defense (IDR 139.3 trillion), and the Indonesian National Police (IDR 117.4 trillion). The budget for the Ministry of Education and Culture/Research and Technology is only slightly higher than the budget for the Ministry of Health, which amounts to IDR 90.5 trillion.

The larger budget for the ministry that deals with infrastructure is in line with the government's priority of quickly completing physical development.

The year 2024 is the last year of the implementation of the 2020-2024 National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN), which means that state spending is focused on achieving national priority targets and completing National Strategic Projects (PSN), including the development of the Nusantara Capital City (IKN).

Presumably, a refocus of the budget for education needs to be done because education will determine the desired economic transformation. The quality of superior and competitive human resources will determine productivity, economic growth and the progress of a nation. (R&D COMPAS)

Also read: Higher Education Crisis