Bantuan Siswa Miskin

Abstract

Primary enrollment rates in Indonesia are near 100 percent for all students, but students from poor and vulnerable households have a difficult time completing higher levels of education. Poor households most often have heads of households with primary school education or lower while rates of illiteracy among households below the poverty line are approximately double that of non poor households. For the most recent cohort (with completed elementary and secondary education) less than 50 percent of those from poor households who enrolled in first grade made it to junior secondary and less than 20 percent made it to senior secondary (compared to 90 and over 75 percent, respectively, of those from the richest 20 percent of households who enrolled in first grade). Poor households also state that if higher education has to be rationed in their household because it is too expensive, it is more often male children who will be sent and female children kept back. The Bantuan Siswa Miskin (BSM) program, which provides cash transfers for school attendance, could provide the right solution for poor households facing rising costs and increased risk of low education. The BSM program provides transfers from central education agencies directly to students or schools in which students sit. The BSM program is actually 10 independently-run initiatives that together cover all levels of education (including vocational education) at secular and religious public schools. Unlike other household-based transfers, the BSM initiatives have neither a central coordinating unit nor a unified budget. Within each institution, separate units independently manage and execute initiatives for students from each level of schooling and for vocational education. The Kemenag-run BSM initiatives for university scholars are further fragmented by religious affiliation (of partner universities). In total, there are 10 BSM initiatives, each with its own manual, fund flow structure, and implementing procedures. There is little coordination between initiatives, even those located in the same institution. This note assesses the operation and implementation of the BSM program to determine how well poor households are served. It provides quantitative analysis of the coverage, incidence, and average benefit levels of BSM to determine both the progressivity of the program's targeting and the adequacy of benefit levels. Qualitative information on program delivery and program operations will also shed light on areas for reform. A review of the program's design and operating guidelines will offer enhancements to the program's effectiveness and relevance.