TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Head of the Presidential Communication Office, Hasan Nasbi, admitted that he had not fully read the Constitutional Court's decision regarding free schooling. He claimed that he only learned of the news from the media.
"Of course, we will later ask for guidance and instructions from the President (Prabowo Subianto)," Hasan said when approached by the media in Pecenongan, Central Jakarta, on May 28, 2025.
The Constitutional Court approved a request for judicial review put forward by the Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPI). This request asked for free schooling for both public and private schools. In its decision, the Court ordered the government to provide nine years of basic education, from elementary to junior high school or its equivalent, for free in both public and private schools.
JPPI and three applicants, namely Fathiyah, Novianisa Rizkika, and Riris Risma Anjiningrum, challenged Article 34 paragraph (2) of Law Number 20 of 2003, which is about the National Education System (Sisdiknas Law). The applicants asked the Court to decide that required education at the basic level, in both public and private schools, should be free of charge. This case was recorded as case number 3/PUU-XXII/2024.
The Court ordered the central and local governments to make sure that basic education is provided without fees. This applies to basic education units managed by the government and those managed by the community or private groups. In its reasoning, constitutional judge Guntur Hamzah stated that the state has a duty under the Constitution to fully pay for basic education, as stated in Article 31 paragraph (2) of the 1945 Constitution.
In a separate discussion, Aris Adi Leksono, a Commissioner of the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI), stated that the Constitutional Court's decision must be included in the planned revision of the Law on the National Education System, or Sisdiknas Law.
"If necessary, there should be a provision regulating the division of education financing by the central and regional governments," Aris said when asked on Wednesday, May 28, 2025.
Lalu Hadrian Irfani, Vice Chair of the House of Representatives Commission X, affirmed that the parliament is ready to oversee the implementation of the Constitutional Court's decision regarding the government's obligation to provide free basic education in both public and private schools. However, he emphasized the challenge of securing sufficient funding to carry out this decision. He believes that the state budget and regional budgets must adequately and proportionally cover the operational costs of education.
"There must be a transparent mechanism to ensure that private schools receive adequate subsidies, without sacrificing the quality and autonomy of school management," Lalu Hadrian Irfani stated in Jakarta on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, as reported by Antara.
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