PALI, KOTABARI.COM – In the Fiscal Year 2021, the government of PALI Regency allocated a budget of Rp402,681,488,818.00 for Goods and Services Expenditure, of which Rp338,116,747,670.00 or 83.97% of the budget has been realized.
One of the components within the Goods and Services Expenditure is the realization of the Equal Education Operational Aid. The Equal Education Operational Aid (BOP Kesetaraan) is a fund allocated for providing non-personnel operational funding to support the learning activities of Program Package A, Package B, and Package C, as stipulated by the regulations.
The BOP funds in PALI Regency are obtained from the Central Government’s Transfer Revenue, in the form of Non-Physical DAK for Equal Education Operational Aid.
Equal Education is a non-formal education program that provides general education equivalent to primary school/madrasah ibtidaiyah, junior high school/madrasah tsanawiyah, and senior high school/madrasah aliyah, which includes Program Packages A, B, and C.
During the Fiscal Year 2021, the Local Government of Penukal Abab Lematang Ilir allocated and disbursed a total of Rp4,089,300,000.00 for BOP Kesetaraan, with two disbursements of Rp2,727,250,000.00 in the first phase or 66.69% of the realization, and Rp1,362,050,000.00 in the second phase or 33.31% of the realization.
These funds were disbursed to 15 community learning centers, known as PKBM, located in various districts within PALI Regency.
However, an investigation conducted by state auditors revealed issues concerning the implementation of the BOP Kesetaraan program in PALI Regency.
One of the issues is the alleged failure to establish the BOP Team. According to Regulation No. 9 of 2021 issued by the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia, Article 20 stipulates that in managing the BOP for Early Childhood Education and BOP Kesetaraan, the Local Government should form a BOP Team, in accordance with its authority. However, based on interviews with the Head of Early Childhood Education and Non-Formal Education and document review, it was found that the PALI Regency Education Office has not established the BOP Kesetaraan Team.
The BOP Team should consist of at least a director, a responsible party, and an executor. Among their tasks, the team is responsible for verifying and validating the completeness and accuracy of the educational unit data. In PALI Regency Education Office, the verification and validation process is carried out by assigning official tasks through written orders.
Another concern is that some of the Equal Education Units have not prepared a Budget Plan for the BOP utilization. The BOP Kesetaraan guidelines dictate that the head of an educational unit should manage the BOP by creating a budget plan for its use.
Based on the accountability documents, it was found that the Activity and Budget Plan for the educational units’ expenses and funding for the year were not comprehensively made. Only a portion of the Community Learning Centers (PKBM) submitted their plans (RKAS) and had them approved/signed.
Moreover, there are suspicions of duplicate student registrations with a total payment of Rp32,150,000.00. The BOP Verification Team of the PALI Regency Education Office conducted verification on the source documents. The verification process involved checking the age of the students, especially those who exceeded the age of 21 (in the second phase), and verifying the completeness of the student’s documents.
Upon finding incomplete or inadequate documents, the students in question were not included in the BOP allocation. The verification results based on the student list used for the second phase payment and the source verification documents (such as diploma and family registration card) revealed the existence of 38 students with potential duplicate registrations, amounting to Rp32,150,000.00. These students were found to share the same names, dates of birth, and places of birth but were registered at different PKBM locations with different NISNs.
After inspecting the verification documents at each PKBM, it was evident that the students with duplicate registrations were indeed the same individuals, as they had the same diploma or family registration card. Some students with identical names, dates of birth, and places of birth were also suspected of having duplicate registrations as they had not yet obtained their diplomas.
These findings have raised significant concerns and call for immediate action from the authorities. Proper establishment of the BOP Kesetaraan Team and strict adherence to the guidelines for managing the BOP funds are necessary to ensure transparency and accountability in the utilization of allocated funds. The alleged duplicate student registrations must also be thoroughly investigated and resolved to avoid any misuse of funds and to uphold the integrity of the education system in PALI Regency.