"The educational budget of Rp722.6 billion is to be mobilized to fund efforts aimed at boosting the nutritional intake of schoolchildren, renovating schools, developing excellent schools, and expanding scholarship programs," he remarked on Friday.
Speaking during a plenary session of the House of Representatives (DPR) at the Parliamentary Complex in Jakarta, Jokowi explained that the proposed budget would also be utilized to promote cultural preservation, support international-level universities, and finance research activities.
Earlier, at the Annual Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) and Joint Session of the DPR and Regional House of Representatives (DPD), the president underlined that the government has been implementing various aid programs for underprivileged citizens in the last decade.
He mentioned the Smart Indonesia Card program, for which his administration has disbursed Rp113 trillion (US$7.1 billion) from the APBN to meet the educational needs of around 20 million students annually.
The president then revealed that a budget worth Rp60.3 trillion (US$3.8 billion) had been allotted to fund the Pre-Employment program aimed at honing the skills of about 18.8 million workers across Indonesia.
Furthermore, he said, a budget totaling Rp361 trillion (US$23 billion) had been allotted for the Healthy Indonesia Card program to support health services for over 92 million participants of the National Health Insurance (JKN) each year.
He also drew attention to the funds worth Rp225 trillion (US$14.3 billion) allocated for the Family Hope program as a means to improve the living standards of approximately 10 million families every year.
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Translator: Maria C, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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