Amidst the increasingly complex landscape of public governance in the era of decentralization, a fundamental reality becomes impossible to ignore: education budgeting can no longer be managed mechanically, monotonously, or merely to fulfill formal bureaucratic obligations.
The book An Accountant’s Perspective: Public Education Budgeting for Quality and Equity by Dr. Ruslan Effendi arrives to deconstruct how we perceive the state’s financing of the nation’s future. It presents an essential critique: fiscal allocation must not stop at the dogma of “keeping schools running.” Instead, it must transform the budget into a tangible instrument that fosters both quality and social justice.
Beyond the Trap of Formal Access
We are frequently trapped in the narrative of tuition-free education. Yet, what is the value of free education if the fulfillment of this right merely stops at the school gates, without ever touching the substance of equitable quality?
The reality on the ground reveals a gaping chasm. Regions with limited fiscal capacity and human resources are often caught in a cycle of stagnant quality. Without the formulation of an adaptive, per-pupil cost standard rooted in real, on-the-ground needs, affirmative action policies will lose their teeth, and regional disparities will only widen further.
A Paradigm Shift: From Input to Outcome
Through the lens of functionalism and the dynamics of modern political economy, this book offers a new roadmap. It is time for contemporary education budget design to shift radically from traditional, input-based models toward Outcome-Based Budgeting.
A budget is not merely a string of numbers on a working paper; it is a concrete mechanism to ensure that every Indonesian child—from Sabang to Merauke, regardless of social class or geographical divide—receives their right to an equal quality of education.
A Call to Action
This book is not just a theoretical academic discourse, but a call to action for policymakers, public accounting practitioners, and the public at large. We are challenged to return the budget to its true essence: as a manifestation of social justice.
For ultimately, equitable budgeting is not about the nominal amount disbursed, but where its direction and impact culminate. Are we truly building a bridge toward quality and equitable education, or are we merely perpetuating existing inequalities?