JakartaPost-Sept 21
President Prabowo Subianto’s latest remarks on regional budgets and teachers’ recruitment has raised concern about power recentralization that would further erode regional autonomy in Indonesia. During Prabowo’s recent sit-down with several senior journalists at his private residence in Hambalang, Bogor regency, West Java, he addressed concerns about reductions in regional transfers as the government is imposing austerity measures to prioritize state budget for the President’s flagship programs. For this year’s state budget, regional transfers fell to Rp 693 trillion (US$48 billion), down about 20 percent from the Rp 869 trillion allocated in 2025. When asked about the cut, Prabowo blamed some regions for “not using the money” to build or repair infrastructure such as school buildings and bridges. He further blamed Indonesia’s “rapid decentralization” that has given local administrations greater authority, while alleging several regional heads had misused funds transferred by Jakarta. As an attempt to improve education quality, the President also said the government has been deliberating a plan to return the authority to recruit teachers to the central government as part of a “sweeping overhaul”. The plan, Prabowo said, stemmed from his skepticism about teachers’ selection under local administrations, claiming some regional leaders picked educators only from their close circles. The proposal to change the recruitment scheme came after the government announced in August to transfer nonpermanent teachers under the Government Employees with Work Agreements (PPPK) scheme from local administration to the central government. At that time, Home Minister Tito Karnavian cited the plan was to ease pressure on regions struggling to pay their teachers. The pressure was partly caused by cuts affecting regional education funding, with the education budget channeled through transfers to regions falling from Rp 346 trillion in 2024 to Rp 277 trillion in the 2027 draft state budget. First enacted into law in 1974, regional autonomy was further reinforced in the 1999 Regional Administration Law, granting local leaders greater authority in various aspects of governance, ranging from health to education. Read more at:
