An evaluation of the free education program in Palembang City Indonesia

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the implementation of the Free Education Program (FEP) in Palembang, Indonesia that has been implemented since 2009. The population of the study was all the 22 public senior high schools in Palembang. The sample consisted of 14 school heads, 33 members of school management teams, and 150 teachers in the 14 schools. School heads and school management teams were chosen through purposive sampling, while teachers were chosen via stratified random selection. The research design used a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches involving questionnaire, interview protocol, and document analysis. The findings show that FEP is actually a funding policy from the province and the city government in addition to the existing School Operational Funding Assistance (BOS) and a one-off fund granted upon application from the central government. Respondents perceived that the overall fund was insufficient to run the school activities. Several issues regarding the implementation include mismatch between the governor’s regulation and schools’ understanding of the program, absence of school management team that oversees FEP, and late payment. The FEP fund was used together with BOS and other funds to carry out school activities. Therefore, it is almost impossible to measure the outcomes and impact of FEP on education separately. It is recommended that the Provincial Government of South Sumatra and Palembang City Government be fully committed to the goal of FEP and distribute the fund on time. The study provides insight about the implementation of the FEP, issues encountered in its implementation, and opportunity for the provincial government to review the policy. For further study, the evaluation of FEP can be conducted in all types of school at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels to provide a thorough and comprehensive evaluation of the program.