Medan City Government Again Reviews Free School Policy | OBROLANBISNIS.com — Medan Mayor, Rico Waas, responded to the Constitutional Court (MK) decision number 3/PUU-XXII/2024 which requires local governments to make education free for elementary and junior high school levels, both in public and private schools.
According to Mayor Rico, the implementation of the policy requires in-depth study. He emphasized the importance of discussions with academics and economic practitioners to see the state’s readiness to implement the decision.
“I want to have more discussions first with fellow academics and also economic practitioners. Because I see the intention (of the Constitutional Court Decision) is good, but is the state capable of implementing it. This is the question, how is the study. For that, I need to conduct more comprehensive studies,” said Rico, recently.
Rico revealed that the biggest challenge actually comes from the implementation in private schools managed by foundations or private parties. The diverse financing system for private schools is one of the reasons for the need for a special study.
“Because if it’s a private school, this system is also owned by individuals (foundations) whose financial space is needed to rotate. So how is the method or pattern, while (the costs) of these private schools are different. There are elite private schools, medium, this is how the pattern is. That’s why for this matter we need a study,” he explained.
As an initial follow-up, the Medan City Government will coordinate with the Indonesian Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Dikdasmen). Rico ensured that his party would involve all elements, including private school managers, in further discussions. ***
