Commission XI DPR: Hundreds of Trillions in Education Funds Unabsorbed

A senior Indonesian legislator has accused the government of failing to disburse hundreds of trillions of rupiah in education funds over the past five years, a shortfall he argues violates the constitutional mandate for education spending. Dolfie Othniel Frederic Palit, Deputy Speaker of Commission XI of the House of Representatives, which oversees finance, stated that the unabsorbed funds infringe upon the constitutional rights of citizens in the field of education.

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If according to the Constitutional Court's decision, it usurps the constitutional rights of the people in the field of education as regulated in the 1945 Constitution.

Palit detailed that unspent education budgets amounted to Rp 70 trillion in 2021, soaring to Rp 141 trillion in 2022, followed by Rp 110 trillion in 2023, Rp 99 trillion in 2024, and Rp 67 trillion in 2025. He asserted that these substantial sums could have been used to enhance educational facilities, construct new schools, or broaden scholarship access for students.

"The financial notes state 20 percent (of the state budget), but when it comes to spending, it's not one hundred percent. Why?" Palit questioned during a working meeting on fiscal policy and the 2027 Draft State Budget with the Directorate General of the Ministry of Finance. He suggested the problem extends beyond slow program implementation, pointing to structural issues in the government's calculation of the minimum 20% education budget allocation.

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The financial notes state 20 percent (of the state budget), but when it comes to spending, it's not one hundred percent. Why?

One key issue Palit identified is the government's classification of some education components under "financing" rather than direct spending. For instance, in 2021, Rp 66 trillion was allocated to education-related financing, but only Rp 29 trillion was realized. In 2022, financing allocations reached Rp 117 trillion, with only Rp 20 trillion realized. This approach, Palit argued, contradicts the regulation that mandates at least 20% of state expenditure, not financing, for education. He believes this method allows the government to appear compliant with the mandatory spending while effectively hiding funds within the financing component, which also covers state debt instruments unrelated solely to education.

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This is what causes the education budget to be...