Government of Indonesia Gives Out Educational Grants to 20.3 million Poor Children
24 April 2015
The Government of Indonesia will be distributing cash grants to cover personal education costs for 20.3 million children through the Smart Indonesia Programme. The grants will be given to ‘school-age’ children from families which hold the Family Welfare Card (Kartu Keluarga Sejahtera; KKS) and to those meeting previously set requirements. Asril Umar, Assistant Deputy for Middle and Higher Education, Coordinating Ministry of Human Development and Culture conveyed this information at a media event for the Smart Indonesia Programme in Makassar (23/04). The event was facilitated by the National Team for the Acceleration of Poverty Reduction (TNP2K).
The Smart Indonesia Programme aims to help poor children between the ages of 6 and 21 to finish their education, to reduce the number of school drop-outs and to encourage drop outs to reenroll in school. Asril explained that the cash grants would be distributed to both children already listed in the education system and those no longer listed. “They will receive educational grants if they enroll themselves into formal or nonformal education institutions. Once enrolled, they will be listed as beneficiaries of the Smart Indonesia Programme, the list for which will be approved by the government,” explained Asril.
Prof. Dr. Nur Kholis, Director of Islamic Education, Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA) explained further that the programme targets not only students in schools (public and Islamic), but also those registered to receive nonformal education including: Study Group A, B and C from training agencies registered with MoEC, MoRA and Islamic boarding schools. “Students between the ages of 16 and 21 who take Koran-reading classes at Islamic boarding schools and have met programme requirements will also receive the Smart Indonesia Card (Kartu Indonesia Pintar; KIP). The KIP automatically entitles such students to the education grant,” explained Professor Nur.
Once beneficiaries of the Smart Indonesia Programme have been registered at schools (formal and nonformal), they will receive cash grants totaling: (a) Rp. 225,000 per semester for primary school (and other equivalent levels); (b) Rp. 375,000 per semester for junior high school and equivalent students; and (c) Rp. 500,000 per semester for senior high school and equivalent students.
This event is part of a series of media briefings and follows the briefing held on April 14th, 2105. These events are held to provide information to the public on the Smart Indonesia Programme, as well as to beneficiaries of the KKS who have school-age children.