Every year, the mandatory allocation of 20 percent of the state and regional budgets for education is loudly heralded as proof of the government’s absolute commitment to citizens’ basic rights. On paper, this massive influx of capital seems to have successfully given our education system a facelift. Indonesia’s Education Report Card consistently shows a high School Socio-Economic Status (SES) Index, stretching from the westernmost tip to the eastern reaches of the archipelago. However, a closer look at the data reveals a stark anomaly: in the West, the average School SES hits 72.48, a sharp contrast to the Student SES which stands at just 60.64. In the Central region, the School SES reaches 71.61 (compared to a Student SES of 58.70), and even in the East, the School SES still dominates at 65.87, far outstripping the economic reality of its students.
At an institutional level, this barrage of numbers creates a statistical illusion that our schools are thriving. Yet, behind this manicured data lies a dark paradox: the physical cosmetics of educational institutions have not translated into an increase in the reasoning and cognitive quality of the children inside them. Institutional welfare is nothing more than skin-deep if it fails to cultivate and spark student intelligence in the classroom.
Based on statistical analysis from the National Assessment, the correlation between a school’s SES Index and its students’ numeracy scores is dismal, sitting at a meager $r = 0.182$. Meanwhile, the correlation between school facilities and student literacy is cut from the same cloth, stalling at just $r = 0.219$. These figures, hovering so close to zero, serve as a deafening wake-up call regarding the efficacy of our policies.
Empirical evidence shows that the hundreds of trillions of rupiah pumped into polishing school infrastructure have had a negligible impact on sharpening students’ analytical skills. The budget has effectively frozen into piles of concrete and cement, failing to penetrate the cognitive depths of the students.
Why has institutional welfare diverged so radically from student achievement? Borrowing a diagnosis from education economist Eric Hanushek, our education system is currently trapped in the euphoria of building physical capital, while simultaneously neglecting to capitalize on knowledge wealth.
At the regional level, this anomaly is born from a suffocating fiscal decentralization framework. Of course, pointing fingers solely at local governments is short-sighted. They are caught in the dilemma of “unfunded mandates.” The reality on the ground shows that 60 to 70 percent of the General Allocation Fund (DAU) transfers from the central government are completely swallowed up just to pay civil servant salaries.
Faced with such tight fiscal constraints, the remaining education budget is pragmatically funneled into physical infrastructure. Building schools and renovating facilities are often preferred because they serve as the most tangible, highly visible metrics of development—easily digested by the public ahead of regional elections.
Local governments are often preoccupied with chasing “green” checkmarks on physical school welfare indicators, while forgetting a universal law of education: students never grow smarter simply by staring at an expensive projector or grand walls. They learn because they are taught by teachers who possess genuine cognitive and pedagogical competence.
If this country is truly serious about rescuing its youth from a prolonged literacy and numeracy crisis, our budgeting paradigm must be radically overhauled. The grandeur of physical infrastructure must no longer be used as a political shield or as the sole indicator of regional development success.
The government must immediately abandon its brick-and-mortar policy bias and pivot toward a “student allotment” system. This model allocates base funding per individual student based on actual needs on the ground, ensuring that equal standards of teaching quality are met.
Trillions of rupiah from regional budgets must be reallocated toward intensive training programs and the equitable distribution of certified teachers. Teachers are the true agents of change. We must not allow the constitutional mandate of the 20 percent education budget to result in nothing more than magnificent educational ivory towers, while millions of children sitting inside them are left to languish, never having been taught how to think critically to conquer the future.