Indonesia's education budget realization falls short of constitutional mandate

The realization of Indonesia's education budget for 2025 has drawn scrutiny, with only 90.68% of the allocated Rp724.26 trillion being utilized. This falls short of the constitutional mandate requiring at least 20% of the state budget to be dedicated to education.

While the government and the House of Representatives interpret the 20% minimum as a calculation based on total state expenditure, meaning the 2025 budget's Rp724.3 trillion allocation meets this threshold, the actual realization has been consistently lower. The government also includes funding from educational financing posts, such as the Education Fund Management Agency and various endowment funds, in this calculation.

The education budget comprises Rp297.17 trillion for Central Government Spending (BPP) and Rp347.09 trillion for Transfer to Regions (TKD). BPP, allocated across 23 ministries and agencies, saw 96.24% realization. However, Rp35.55 trillion allocated through Non-Ministry/Agency spending by the State Treasurer was not realized at all.

The article suggests that the government struggles to meet the mandatory spending requirement during periods of fiscal pressure, leading to "manipulation" in budget allocation. This involves reclassifying certain spending and financing posts to qualify as education-related expenditures. Consequently, the education budget has not been fully realized since 2015, with a notable decline in recent years: 87.20% in 2021, 77.30% in 2022, 82.23% in 2023, 85.10% in 2024, and a projected 90.11% for 2025.