The Bali administration has allocated a significant amount of money for traditional village groups to finance an early age education program on the island to increase the number of under-six-year-olds who receive education.
The program, known as PAUD, was started in 2006 and is aimed at establishing community-based children's playgroup facilities for the island's banjar (traditional neighborhood organizations).
Banjar, the core community organization in Balinese villages, are separate from Indonesia's modern bureaucratic hierarchy.
However, the Bali administration has in the past repeatedly sought the help of these traditional organizations in implementing government programs. One example was the successful of banjar in carrying out the government's family planning program.
"The administration acts as a stimulator for the program while the implementers are the desa pekraman (traditional customary villages) and banjar," head of Bali's Learning Group Empowerment Body (BPKB) IB Anom said recently.
The BPKB is a government body tasked with promoting and assisting education programs in communities.
Classes for young leaners will be held in the hall of each participating banjar. Every banjar in Bali has its own hall, known as a bale banjar, in which meetings, music lessons and traditional dance performances are held.
In order to qualify to stage the classes, a banjar must be able to supply the venue, staff and teachers. The administration also dictates that a village may not have a similar facility operating in the immediate regions. If the village meets all of these requirements, the administration will supply it with the fund.
"Since each desa pekraman comprises several banjar then the actual site of the playgroup will be decided by the members of the desa pekraman," he added.
In 2006, the Bali administration disbursed a total Rp 2.5 billion (US$268,817) to finance the establishment of 100 playgroups. In the following year, the administration established 32 more playgroups. This year, the administration will a further 18.
Each playgroup receives an assistance fund of Rp 25 million. The funds are used in the procurement of educational toys and to finance the playgroup's daily operations.
"There are enrollment fees and tuition fees for children who want to join the facility. The amount of those fees is decided by the desa pekraman or the banjar. Since the fees are set by the local community, the fees are generally affordable, he added.
The Bali administration has targeted that by 2009, 50 percent of all children between 3 and 4-years-old on the island will have access to the learning program.
The administration has chosen to focus on the age group for a number of reasons, Anom said.
"The limited number of available playgroups is one of the reasons. Usually, these formal playgroups, operated mostly by private institutions, charge expensive enrollment and tuition fees," he said.
Another factor concerns the low awareness of the program among parents.
"Many parents still believe their children should go to school when they have reached the age of six. In fact, children in the 3-4 years-old age group already possess the ability to absorb knowledge as well as to be creative," he said.
The program, known as PAUD, was started in 2006 and is aimed at establishing community-based children's playgroup facilities for the island's banjar (traditional neighborhood organizations).
Banjar, the core community organization in Balinese villages, are separate from Indonesia's modern bureaucratic hierarchy.
However, the Bali administration has in the past repeatedly sought the help of these traditional organizations in implementing government programs. One example was the successful of banjar in carrying out the government's family planning program.
"The administration acts as a stimulator for the program while the implementers are the desa pekraman (traditional customary villages) and banjar," head of Bali's Learning Group Empowerment Body (BPKB) IB Anom said recently.
The BPKB is a government body tasked with promoting and assisting education programs in communities.
Classes for young leaners will be held in the hall of each participating banjar. Every banjar in Bali has its own hall, known as a bale banjar, in which meetings, music lessons and traditional dance performances are held.
In order to qualify to stage the classes, a banjar must be able to supply the venue, staff and teachers. The administration also dictates that a village may not have a similar facility operating in the immediate regions. If the village meets all of these requirements, the administration will supply it with the fund.
"Since each desa pekraman comprises several banjar then the actual site of the playgroup will be decided by the members of the desa pekraman," he added.
In 2006, the Bali administration disbursed a total Rp 2.5 billion (US$268,817) to finance the establishment of 100 playgroups. In the following year, the administration established 32 more playgroups. This year, the administration will a further 18.
Each playgroup receives an assistance fund of Rp 25 million. The funds are used in the procurement of educational toys and to finance the playgroup's daily operations.
"There are enrollment fees and tuition fees for children who want to join the facility. The amount of those fees is decided by the desa pekraman or the banjar. Since the fees are set by the local community, the fees are generally affordable, he added.
The Bali administration has targeted that by 2009, 50 percent of all children between 3 and 4-years-old on the island will have access to the learning program.
The administration has chosen to focus on the age group for a number of reasons, Anom said.
"The limited number of available playgroups is one of the reasons. Usually, these formal playgroups, operated mostly by private institutions, charge expensive enrollment and tuition fees," he said.
Another factor concerns the low awareness of the program among parents.
"Many parents still believe their children should go to school when they have reached the age of six. In fact, children in the 3-4 years-old age group already possess the ability to absorb knowledge as well as to be creative," he said.
Source:Wasti Atmodjo , Contributor, The Jakarta Post , Denpasar | Tue, 09/30/2008 10:19 AM | Bali
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