The School Operational Assistance Program (BOS) is unable to eliminate fees at the basic education level, thus hampering the policy of free, quality basic education.
School/madrasah fees are still high because BOS funds are insufficient to meet school operational needs. This is because: Firstly, the unit cost of BOS is less than it should be (under estimated). Both BOS unit costs are the same between districts/cities.
BOS unit cost allocation is currently based on non-personnel operational cost standards set by BSNP. What makes BOS funds under estimated is because BOS unit costs also include investment costs (such as for procuring library books, computers, etc.) as well as personal costs (such as salaries for teachers and honorary employees). In 2015, the use of BOS funds for honorary teacher/employee salaries was a maximum of 15% from the total BOS funds received by state schools/madrasahs.
BOS unit costs currently refer to non-personnel operational cost standards that apply in DKI Jakarta. For regions with a higher education cost index than Jakarta, of course the current BOS fund allocation will not be enough. A 2014 World Bank study shows that regions with a high education cost index are generally in eastern Indonesia where the regional budget for education is also low.
To find out more in depth, download the Policy Note at this link:
https://bit.ly/BOSPendidikan
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