The Implementation of Law No 9/09 toward the Quality of Indonesia's Education

Yesterday I attended a meeting held by Koran Pendidikan in Regent Hotel Malang. The topic they had was quite interesting, namely, ‘the Implication of Law No 9 2009 Badan Hukum Pendidikan toward the Quality of Education in Indonesia’. Basically this law, as one of the speakers said and as the only one I could recall, is intended to improve the quality of education where the prospective educational institutions in the coming years will be a newly defined social body which main concerns are to broaden the opportunities of the students from low income families to enter higher education (20%), to promote institutional good government at the college level, to encourage accountability and transparency in financial reports, to increase public participation in developing and monitoring the progress of educational programs, and so on and so forth. As for your information, the name of foundation will no longer exist according to this law. Instead, it becomes the so called Badan Hukum Penyelenggara. Shortly, it soon operates like a social body but it has to complete all official requirements like other common companies.
As a consequence of this law, all level of education from elementary to college has a new label as a nonprofit organization. No profit is allowed to be shared among the owners of the corporate if any. The law also dictates that regular evaluation by means of internal and external audit will be conducted to see if regulation items have been fulfilled. In the case of state owned education institutions, maximally a quarter of the whole income is gained from students. Another is granted by the government in the forms of grants or hibah, and the other is from its own institution. One of the speakers who admitted himself as the members of the law making group said that it was kind of hard step to follow especially in the beginning phase. So far, his institution has accepted almost 50% of the whole income from the students. With this law, a new financial budget should be able to push the student income post to 30% maximally. In granting that internal operational expenditure can be fully met, some extravagant programs and strategies have long been made and some others will be issued in the very near future, he said, as for example, guest houses, boarding houses, a cooperative, a hospital and some others. They are our income generators that hopefully can help us with money.
In one side, there are some things that we need our careful consideration.
1. It needs a clear limitation of what nonprofit organization is meant. The definition is still bluring. Does it mean that non profit should be a condition where no excess of revenues is found? In fact, no organization can exist without money.
2. Spending money within 4 years sounds wierd. According to this law, all educational institution should not keep their money in the budget. If any, then all excess of revenues found in the budget should be made use within 4 years. If not, the custom people will tax the money. How if there is no other program that need to be finacially supported. Should money still be spent only for the sake of 'nirlaba'?
3. Establishing new businees units as income generators need money. Are there any generous people who are willing to share their properties to execute these plans?
I believe that Law No 9 /09 is basically good in itself. It contains a vision that we all have desperately been dreaming of, having a good educational quality. Our education has so far been left behind. Despite the fact that many of us have already made international accomplisments abroad, but not a few of our TKI brothers and sisters have been mistreated so badly. We all need education no matter who we are and where we are from. This law is concerned with this condition, making Indonesian people clever in the eyes of other nations since everybody gets the chance to study (although I am myself still doubtful about the correlation between this law and the improving quality of education). Last but not least, I just do hope that the house members really think it over thousand times... no need to rush if there are things that need to be improved. I am just afraid that instead of "membina" (promoting good education), Law No 9 is justru "membinasakan" (to demolish the prevailing "infant" institutions). Hopefully, there will be no institutional "conglomeration" as direct consequences that "the have" benefit. They are not more than neo liberalism thoughts but come into existence in very diiferent mode of existence.