Jakarta (ANTARA) - Biggest component of the 2023 budget is mandatory funding that included educational allowances and assistance, such as the Smart Indonesia Program (PIP) and teacher allowances, according to Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Minister Nadiem Makarim.

"The ministry's total budget in 2023 is around Rp80.22 trillion, and the biggest component of this is mandatory funding of Rp38.17 trillion. This included allowances and assistance to ensure access to education, such as PIP, KIP, teacher allowances, and lecturer allowances," the minister stated at the Presidential Office in Jakarta on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the ministry's priority program -- the Independent Learning Program -- will receive a budget allocation of Rp4.57 trillion, he remarked.

According to Makarim, the budget is intended for various types of development, including the independent curriculum, implementation of national assessments, Teacher Mobilization Program, and mentoring driving schools in frontier, outermost, and disadvantaged (3T) areas, as well as literacy programs.

In addition, the Ministry of Education and Culture will implement an education digitization program. The minister said his side would continue to improve the free technology platform for teachers and school principals.

"We will continue to improve free technology platforms for teachers and principals in the next year to ensure that all teachers have the ability to increase their capacity," Makarim stated.

Increasing human resources (HR) capabilities is one of the focus areas for the government in the 2023 state budget. Improving the quality of HR, in this case, refers to the allocation of funds to the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health that oversee HR development.

Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani also detailed budget allocation in the 2023 state budget for the education sector to reach Rp612.2 trillion, comprising a budget for the central government of Rp237.1 trillion; transfers to the regions, Rp305.6 trillion; and financing with Rp69.5 trillion.

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Translator: Indra Arief P, Resinta S
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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